AG Mortgage Investment Trust (NYSE:MITT) vs. Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance (NASDAQ:REFI) Financial Analysis
by Scott Moore · The Cerbat GemAG Mortgage Investment Trust (NYSE:MITT – Get Free Report) and Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance (NASDAQ:REFI – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, risk and valuation.
Risk & Volatility
AG Mortgage Investment Trust has a beta of 1.64, indicating that its stock price is 64% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance has a beta of 0.26, indicating that its stock price is 74% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares AG Mortgage Investment Trust and Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance”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 | 0.42 | $48.67 million | $0.74 | 8.67 |
| Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance | $55.39 million | 5.15 | $36.01 million | $1.37 | 8.14 |
AG Mortgage Investment Trust has higher revenue and earnings than Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance. Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance 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.
Profitability
This table compares AG Mortgage Investment Trust and Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| AG Mortgage Investment Trust | 8.55% | 15.59% | 0.61% |
| Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance | 54.57% | 11.53% | 8.06% |
Dividends
AG Mortgage Investment Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 15.0%. Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance pays an annual dividend of $1.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 16.9%. AG Mortgage Investment Trust pays out 129.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance pays out 137.2% 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 has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years and Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
27.3% of AG Mortgage Investment Trust shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 25.5% of Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance shares are held by institutional investors. 3.3% of AG Mortgage Investment Trust shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.5% of Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for AG Mortgage Investment Trust and Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| AG Mortgage Investment Trust | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 2.62 |
| Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2.40 |
AG Mortgage Investment Trust currently has a consensus price target of $8.92, suggesting a potential upside of 39.00%. Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance has a consensus price target of $15.33, suggesting a potential upside of 37.58%. Given AG Mortgage Investment Trust’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe AG Mortgage Investment Trust is more favorable than Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance.
Summary
AG Mortgage Investment Trust beats Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance on 11 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 Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance
Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance, Inc. operates as a commercial real estate finance company in the United States. The company engages in originating, structuring, and investing in first mortgage loans and alternative structured financings secured by commercial real estate properties. Its portfolio primarily includes offers senior loans to state-licensed operators in the cannabis industry. The company has elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust (REIT) and would not be subject to federal corporate income taxes if it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its stockholders. Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance, Inc. was incorporated in 2021 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.