Critical Comparison: XChange TEC.INC. (NASDAQ:XHG) & Lesaka Technologies (NASDAQ:LSAK)

Lesaka Technologies (NASDAQ:LSAK) and XChange TEC.INC. (NASDAQ:XHG) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, profitability and risk.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

24.2% of Lesaka Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.4% of Lesaka Technologies shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of XChange TEC.INC. shares are owned by 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.

Profitability

This table compares Lesaka Technologies and XChange TEC.INC.’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lesaka Technologies	-14.02%	-47.06%	-13.44%
XChange TEC.INC.	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Lesaka Technologies and XChange TEC.INC., as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lesaka Technologies	2	0	0	0	1.00
XChange TEC.INC.	1	0	0	0	1.00

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Lesaka Technologies and XChange TEC.INC.”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lesaka Technologies	$328.70 million	1.17	-$87.50 million	($1.07)	-4.29
XChange TEC.INC.	$41.09 million	0.00	-$32.32 million	N/A	N/A

XChange TEC.INC. has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Lesaka Technologies.

Volatility and Risk

Lesaka Technologies has a beta of 0.47, indicating that its share price is 53% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, XChange TEC.INC. has a beta of -1.02, indicating that its share price is 202% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Lesaka Technologies beats XChange TEC.INC. on 5 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lesaka Technologies

Lesaka Technologies, Inc. operates as a Fintech company that utilizes its proprietary banking and payment technologies to deliver financial services solutions to merchants (B2B) and consumers (B2C) in Southern Africa. It offers cash management solutions, growth capital, card acquiring, bill payment technologies, and value-added services to formal and informal retail merchants, as well as banking, lending, and insurance solutions to consumers across Southern Africa. The company also engages in the sale of POS devices, SIM cards, and other consumables; and license of rights to use certain technology developed by the company, as well as offers related technology services. The company was formerly known as Net 1 UEPS Technologies, Inc. and changed its name to Lesaka Technologies, Inc. in May 2022. Lesaka Technologies, Inc. was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa.

About XChange TEC.INC.

XChange TEC.INC engages in the professional insurance agency business in the People’s Republic of China. The company provides a various insurance products underwritten by insurance companies, including state-owned property and casualty insurance companies, as well as various regional property and casualty insurance companies. It also offers automobile, life, health, group accident, and other property related insurances primarily to individual end consumers. In addition, the company operates a SaaS platform to offer comprehensive services to online customers. It sells insurance primarily through a network of external referral sources that include external registered sales representatives and strategic channel partners, as well as through the in-house sales force. The company was formerly known as FLJ Group Limited and changed its name to XChange TEC.INC in May 2024. XChange TEC.INC was founded in 2012 and is based in Shanghai, the People’s Republic of China.