Critical Analysis: AG Mortgage Investment Trust (NYSE:MITT) & Transcontinental Realty Investors (NYSE:TCI)

AG Mortgage Investment Trust (NYSE:MITT) and Transcontinental Realty Investors (NYSE:TCI) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, earnings and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares AG Mortgage Investment Trust and Transcontinental Realty Investors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AG Mortgage Investment Trust	20.19%	9.70%	0.46%
Transcontinental Realty Investors	6.55%	0.38%	0.30%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for AG Mortgage Investment Trust and Transcontinental Realty Investors, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AG Mortgage Investment Trust	0	1	4	0	2.80
Transcontinental Realty Investors	0	0	0	0	0.00

AG Mortgage Investment Trust currently has a consensus price target of $8.30, indicating a potential upside of 11.04%. Given AG Mortgage Investment Trust’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe AG Mortgage Investment Trust is more favorable than Transcontinental Realty Investors.

Volatility and Risk

AG Mortgage Investment Trust has a beta of 2.05, indicating that its stock price is 105% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Transcontinental Realty Investors has a beta of 0.52, indicating that its stock price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

27.3% of AG Mortgage Investment Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 3.2% of AG Mortgage Investment Trust shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 86.2% of Transcontinental Realty Investors shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares AG Mortgage Investment Trust and Transcontinental Realty Investors”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
AG Mortgage Investment Trust	$75.32 million	2.94	$53.78 million	$1.23	6.08
Transcontinental Realty Investors	$44.76 million	5.48	$5.94 million	$0.68	41.72

AG Mortgage Investment Trust has higher revenue and earnings than Transcontinental Realty Investors. AG Mortgage Investment Trust is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Transcontinental Realty Investors, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

AG Mortgage Investment Trust beats Transcontinental Realty Investors on 11 of the 14 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 Transcontinental Realty Investors

Transcontinental Realty Investors, Inc., a Dallas-based real estate investment company, holds a diverse portfolio of equity real estate located across the U.S., including office buildings, apartments, shopping centers, and developed and undeveloped land. The Company invests in real estate through direct ownership, leases and partnerships and invests in mortgage loans on real estate. The Company also holds mortgage receivables.