Analyzing National Health Investors (NYSE:NHI) and AG Mortgage Investment Trust (NYSE:MITT)

AG Mortgage Investment Trust (NYSE:MITT) and National Health Investors (NYSE:NHI) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings and valuation.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

27.3% of AG Mortgage Investment Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 62.5% of National Health Investors shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.2% of AG Mortgage Investment Trust shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 7.3% of National Health Investors shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

AG Mortgage Investment Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 10.1%. National Health Investors pays an annual dividend of $3.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.9%. AG Mortgage Investment Trust pays out 33.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. National Health Investors pays out 115.4% 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 is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Profitability

This table compares AG Mortgage Investment Trust and National Health 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%
National Health Investors	38.53%	10.11%	5.12%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for AG Mortgage Investment Trust and National Health Investors, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AG Mortgage Investment Trust	0	1	3	0	2.75
National Health Investors	0	2	3	0	2.60

AG Mortgage Investment Trust presently has a consensus target price of $8.25, indicating a potential upside of 9.49%. National Health Investors has a consensus target price of $76.60, indicating a potential upside of 4.81%. Given AG Mortgage Investment Trust’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe AG Mortgage Investment Trust is more favorable than National Health Investors.

Risk and Volatility

AG Mortgage Investment Trust has a beta of 2, indicating that its share price is 100% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, National Health Investors has a beta of 1.08, indicating that its share price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares AG Mortgage Investment Trust and National Health Investors”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	$68.95 million	3.23	$53.78 million	$2.28	3.30
National Health Investors	$335.18 million	9.96	$135.65 million	$3.12	23.42

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

Summary

National Health Investors beats AG Mortgage Investment Trust on 10 of the 15 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 National Health Investors

Incorporated in 1991, National Health Investors, Inc. (NYSE:NHI) is a real estate investment trust specializing in sale, leasebacks, joint-ventures, senior housing operating partnerships, and mortgage and mezzanine financing of need-driven and discretionary senior housing and medical investments. NHI's portfolio consists of independent living, assisted living and memory care communities, entrance-fee retirement communities, skilled nursing facilities, and specialty hospitals.