Lument Finance Trust (NYSE:LFT) & Plymouth Industrial REIT (NYSE:PLYM) Head to Head Contrast

Plymouth Industrial REIT (NYSE:PLYM) and Lument Finance Trust (NYSE:LFT) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Plymouth Industrial REIT and Lument Finance Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Plymouth Industrial REIT	13.45%	5.47%	1.86%
Lument Finance Trust	16.43%	12.59%	1.71%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Plymouth Industrial REIT and Lument Finance Trust’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Plymouth Industrial REIT	$199.46 million	5.42	$13.66 million	$0.43	55.42
Lument Finance Trust	$34.79 million	3.72	$19.72 million	$0.32	7.73

Lument Finance Trust has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Plymouth Industrial REIT. Lument Finance Trust is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Plymouth Industrial REIT, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

92.7% of Plymouth Industrial REIT shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 19.5% of Lument Finance Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 1.3% of Plymouth Industrial REIT shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.7% of Lument Finance Trust shares are held 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.

Volatility & Risk

Plymouth Industrial REIT has a beta of 1.36, indicating that its share price is 36% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lument Finance Trust has a beta of 1.07, indicating that its share price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Plymouth Industrial REIT and Lument Finance Trust, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Plymouth Industrial REIT	1	3	3	0	2.29
Lument Finance Trust	0	0	2	0	3.00

Plymouth Industrial REIT presently has a consensus target price of $25.57, indicating a potential upside of 7.31%. Lument Finance Trust has a consensus target price of $2.50, indicating a potential upside of 1.01%. Given Plymouth Industrial REIT’s higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Plymouth Industrial REIT is more favorable than Lument Finance Trust.

Dividends

Plymouth Industrial REIT pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Lument Finance Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 12.9%. Plymouth Industrial REIT pays out 223.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Lument Finance Trust pays out 100.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Lument Finance Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Plymouth Industrial REIT beats Lument Finance Trust on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Plymouth Industrial REIT

Plymouth Industrial REIT, Inc. (NYSE: PLYM) is a full service, vertically integrated real estate investment company focused on the acquisition, ownership and management of single and multi-tenant industrial properties. Our mission is to provide tenants with cost effective space that is functional, flexible and safe.

About Lument Finance Trust

Lument Finance Trust, Inc., a real estate investment trust, focuses on investing in, financing, and managing a portfolio of commercial real estate (CRE) debt investments in the United States. The company primarily invests in transitional floating rate CRE mortgage loans on middle market multi-family assets; and other CRE -related investments, including mezzanine loans, preferred equity, commercial mortgage-backed securities, fixed rate loans, construction loans, and other CRE debt instruments. Lument Finance Trust, Inc. is qualified as a real estate investment trust (REIT) under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. As a REIT, it would not be subject to federal income taxes if it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its stockholders. The company was formerly known as Hunt Companies Finance Trust, Inc. and changed its name to Lument Finance Trust, Inc. in December 2020. Lument Finance Trust, Inc. was incorporated in 2012 and is headquartered in New York, New York.