AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNCN) versus Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR) Head to Head Survey

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNCN) and Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership and valuation.

Dividends

AGNC Investment pays an annual dividend of $1.75 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.8%. Ladder Capital pays an annual dividend of $0.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 9.3%. Ladder Capital pays out 219.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares AGNC Investment and Ladder Capital”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
AGNC Investment	$2.40 billion	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Ladder Capital	$390.29 million	3.21	$64.18 million	$0.42	23.54

Ladder Capital has lower revenue, but higher earnings than AGNC Investment.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

62.3% of Ladder Capital shares are owned by institutional investors. 12.6% of Ladder Capital shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for AGNC Investment and Ladder Capital, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AGNC Investment	0	0	0	0	0.00
Ladder Capital	1	2	4	0	2.43

Ladder Capital has a consensus price target of $12.36, indicating a potential upside of 25.01%. Given Ladder Capital’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Ladder Capital is more favorable than AGNC Investment.

Profitability

This table compares AGNC Investment and Ladder Capital’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AGNC Investment	N/A	N/A	N/A
Ladder Capital	12.62%	5.92%	1.64%

Summary

Ladder Capital beats AGNC Investment on 9 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About AGNC Investment

AGNC Investment Corp. provides private capital to housing market in the United States. It invests in residential mortgage pass-through securities and collateralized mortgage obligations for which the principal and interest payments are guaranteed by the United States government-sponsored enterprise or by the United States government agency. 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. The company was formerly known as American Capital Agency Corp. and changed its name to AGNC Investment Corp. in September 2016. AGNC Investment Corp. was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland.

About Ladder Capital

Ladder Capital Corp operates as an internally-managed real estate investment trust in the United States. It operates through three segments: Loans, Securities, and Real Estate. The Loans segment originates conduit first mortgage loans that are secured by cash-flowing commercial real estate; and originates and invests in balance sheet first mortgage loans secured by commercial real estate properties that are undergoing transition, including lease-up, sell-out, and renovation or repositioning. It also invests in note purchase financings, subordinated debt, mezzanine debt, and other structured finance products related to commercial real estate. The Securities segment invests in commercial mortgage-backed securities, U.S. treasury and agency, corporate bonds, and equity securities. The Real Estate segment owns and invests in a portfolio of commercial and residential real estate properties, such as leased properties, office buildings, student housing portfolios, hotels, industrial buildings, shopping center, and condominium units. 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. The company was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in New York, New York.