AG Mortgage Investment Trust (NYSE:MITT – Get Free Report) and KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, risk and dividends.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
27.3% of AG Mortgage Investment Trust shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 70.2% of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 3.3% of AG Mortgage Investment Trust shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares AG Mortgage Investment Trust and KKR Real Estate Finance Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| AG Mortgage Investment Trust | 10.13% | 14.42% | 0.59% |
| KKR Real Estate Finance Trust | -10.80% | -1.13% | -0.22% |
Volatility and Risk
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for AG Mortgage Investment Trust and KKR Real Estate Finance Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| AG Mortgage Investment Trust | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 2.63 |
| KKR Real Estate Finance Trust | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2.00 |
AG Mortgage Investment Trust currently has a consensus price target of $9.25, indicating a potential upside of 23.09%. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a consensus price target of $9.50, indicating a potential upside of 55.36%. Given KKR Real Estate Finance Trust’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe KKR Real Estate Finance Trust is more favorable than AG Mortgage Investment Trust.
Dividends
AG Mortgage Investment Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 12.8%. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 16.4%. AG Mortgage Investment Trust pays out 109.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust pays out -95.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. AG Mortgage Investment Trust has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares AG Mortgage Investment Trust and KKR Real Estate Finance Trust”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| AG Mortgage Investment Trust | $480.33 million | 0.50 | $48.67 million | $0.88 | 8.54 |
| KKR Real Estate Finance Trust | $112.98 million | 3.48 | -$47.05 million | ($1.05) | -5.82 |
AG Mortgage Investment Trust has higher revenue and earnings than KKR Real Estate Finance Trust. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than AG Mortgage Investment Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
AG Mortgage Investment Trust beats KKR Real Estate Finance Trust on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
About AG Mortgage Investment Trust
AG Mortgage Investment Trust, Inc. operates as a residential mortgage real estate investment trust in the United States. Its investment portfolio includes residential investments, including non-agency loans, agency-eligible loans, re-and non-performing loans, and non-agency residential mortgage-backed securities, as well as commercial loans and commercial mortgage-backed securities. The company qualifies as a real estate investment trust for federal income tax purposes. It generally would not be subject to federal corporate income taxes if it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its stockholders. AG Mortgage Investment Trust, Inc. was incorporated in 2011 and is based in New York, New York.
About KKR Real Estate Finance Trust
KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc., a mortgage real estate investment trust, focuses primarily on originating and acquiring transitional senior loans secured by commercial real estate (CRE) assets. It engages in the origination and purchase of credit investments related to CRE, including leveraged and unleveraged commercial real estate loans. The company has elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust and would not be subject to federal corporate income taxes if it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its stockholders. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
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