W. P. Carey (NYSE:WPC – Get Free Report) and AG Mortgage Investment Trust (NYSE:MITT – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability and earnings.
Profitability
This table compares W. P. Carey and AG Mortgage Investment Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| W. P. Carey | 29.11% | 5.37% | 2.61% |
| AG Mortgage Investment Trust | 20.19% | 9.70% | 0.46% |
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for W. P. Carey and AG Mortgage Investment Trust, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| W. P. Carey | 1 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2.22 |
| AG Mortgage Investment Trust | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2.75 |
Dividends
W. P. Carey pays an annual dividend of $3.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.7%. AG Mortgage Investment Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 10.3%. W. P. Carey pays out 168.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. AG Mortgage Investment Trust pays out 33.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. AG Mortgage Investment Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
73.7% of W. P. Carey shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 27.3% of AG Mortgage Investment Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of W. P. Carey shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.2% of AG Mortgage Investment Trust shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Risk and Volatility
W. P. Carey has a beta of 0.97, suggesting that its share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AG Mortgage Investment Trust has a beta of 2, suggesting that its share price is 100% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares W. P. Carey and AG Mortgage Investment Trust”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| W. P. Carey | $1.58 billion | 8.53 | $460.84 million | $2.09 | 29.51 |
| AG Mortgage Investment Trust | $260.33 million | 0.84 | $53.78 million | $2.28 | 3.25 |
W. P. Carey has higher revenue and earnings than AG Mortgage Investment Trust. AG Mortgage Investment Trust is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than W. P. Carey, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
AG Mortgage Investment Trust beats W. P. Carey on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About W. P. Carey
W. P. Carey ranks among the largest net lease REITs with a well-diversified portfolio of high-quality, operationally critical commercial real estate, which includes 1,424 net lease properties covering approximately 173 million square feet and a portfolio of 89 self-storage operating properties as of December 31, 2023. With offices in New York, London, Amsterdam and Dallas, the company remains focused on investing primarily in single-tenant, industrial, warehouse and retail properties located in the U.S. and Northern and Western Europe, under long-term net leases with built-in rent escalations.
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.
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