Reviewing Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) and AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNCP)

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) and AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNCP) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership and dividends.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Annaly Capital Management	2.59%	14.75%	1.57%
AGNC Investment	N/A	N/A	N/A

Dividends

Annaly Capital Management pays an annual dividend of $2.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 13.5%. AGNC Investment pays an annual dividend of $1.53 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.2%. Annaly Capital Management pays out -3,714.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Annaly Capital Management and AGNC Investment”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Annaly Capital Management	$3.73 billion	2.79	-$1.64 billion	($0.07)	-276.14
AGNC Investment	$514.00 million	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

51.6% of Annaly Capital Management shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Annaly Capital Management 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 Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Annaly Capital Management and AGNC Investment, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Annaly Capital Management	0	2	7	0	2.78
AGNC Investment	0	0	0	0	N/A

Annaly Capital Management presently has a consensus price target of $21.38, indicating a potential upside of 10.58%. Given Annaly Capital Management’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Annaly Capital Management is more favorable than AGNC Investment.

Summary

Annaly Capital Management beats AGNC Investment on 10 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Annaly Capital Management

Annaly Capital Management, Inc., a diversified capital manager, engages in mortgage finance. The company invests in agency mortgage-backed securities collateralized by residential mortgages; non-agency residential whole loans and securitized products within the residential and commercial markets; mortgage servicing rights; agency commercial mortgage-backed securities; to-be-announced forward contracts; residential mortgage loans; and agency or private label credit risk transfer securities. It has elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust (REIT). As a REIT, it is not subject to federal income tax to the extent that it distributes its taxable income to its shareholders. The company was incorporated in 1996 and is based in New York, New York.

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.