Head-To-Head Survey: Angel Oak Mortgage REIT (NYSE:AOMR) vs. Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance (NASDAQ:REFI)

Angel Oak Mortgage REIT (NYSE:AOMR) and Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance (NASDAQ:REFI) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, profitability and valuation.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Angel Oak Mortgage REIT and Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Angel Oak Mortgage REIT	$143.65 million	1.16	$44.02 million	$0.75	9.59
Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance	$55.39 million	4.31	$36.01 million	$1.37	6.80

Angel Oak Mortgage REIT 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 Angel Oak Mortgage REIT, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

80.2% of Angel Oak Mortgage REIT shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 25.5% of Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance shares are held by institutional investors. 2.9% of Angel Oak Mortgage REIT 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 endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Angel Oak Mortgage REIT and Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Angel Oak Mortgage REIT	11.85%	7.74%	0.71%
Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance	54.57%	11.53%	8.06%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for Angel Oak Mortgage REIT and Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Angel Oak Mortgage REIT	1	2	3	0	2.33
Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance	1	2	2	0	2.20

Angel Oak Mortgage REIT presently has a consensus price target of $9.81, indicating a potential upside of 36.38%. Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance has a consensus price target of $15.33, indicating a potential upside of 64.70%. Given Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance is more favorable than Angel Oak Mortgage REIT.

Dividends

Angel Oak Mortgage REIT pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 17.8%. Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance pays an annual dividend of $1.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 20.2%. Angel Oak Mortgage REIT pays out 170.7% 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. Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Risk and Volatility

Angel Oak Mortgage REIT has a beta of 1.28, indicating that its share price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance has a beta of 0.26, indicating that its share price is 74% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance beats Angel Oak Mortgage REIT on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Angel Oak Mortgage REIT

Angel Oak Mortgage REIT, Inc., a real estate finance company, focuses on acquiring and investing in first lien non- qualified mortgage loans and other mortgage-related assets in the United States mortgage market. It offers investment securities; residential mortgage loans; and commercial mortgage loans. 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 incorporated in 2018 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

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.