Head-To-Head Review: Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) and Atlantic International (NASDAQ:CIRC)

Atlantic International (NASDAQ:CIRC) and Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and dividends.

Volatility & Risk

Atlantic International has a beta of 0.75, suggesting that its share price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Atlanticus has a beta of 1.98, suggesting that its share price is 98% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Atlantic International and Atlanticus”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Atlantic International	$435.88 million	0.09	-$59.43 million	($2.11)	-0.21
Atlanticus	$1.97 billion	0.71	$122.20 million	$7.69	11.93

Atlanticus has higher revenue and earnings than Atlantic International. Atlantic International is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Atlanticus, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for Atlantic International and Atlanticus, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Atlantic International	1	0	0	1	2.50
Atlanticus	0	2	5	1	2.88

Atlanticus has a consensus price target of $129.00, suggesting a potential upside of 40.60%. Given Atlanticus’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Atlanticus is more favorable than Atlantic International.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

14.2% of Atlanticus shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.6% of Atlantic International shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 51.0% of Atlanticus shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Atlantic International and Atlanticus’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Atlantic International	-19.39%	N/A	-28.58%
Atlanticus	5.80%	25.17%	2.15%

Summary

Atlanticus beats Atlantic International on 14 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Atlantic International

Atlantic International Corp., through its subsidiaries, operates as a staffing company servicing the commercial, professional, finance, direct placement, and managed service provider verticals. The company specializes in permanent, temporary, and temporary-to-permanent placement services in various areas, including accounting and finance, administrative and clerical, hospitality, information technology, legal, light industrial, and medical fields. It also provides productivity consulting and workforce management solutions. Atlantic International Corp. was founded in 2018 and is based in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.

About Atlanticus

Atlanticus Holdings Corporation, a financial technology company, provides credit and related financial services and products to customers the United States. It operates in two segments, Credit as a Service, and Auto Finance. The Credit as a Service segment originates a range of consumer loan products, such as private label and general purpose credit cards originated by lenders through various channels, including retail and healthcare, direct mail solicitation, digital marketing, and partnerships with third parties; and offers credit to their customers for the purchase of various goods and services, including consumer electronics, furniture, elective medical procedures, healthcare, and home-improvements by partnering with retailers, healthcare providers, and other service providers. This segment also offers loan servicing, such as risk management and customer service outsourcing for third parties; and engages in testing and investment activities in consumer finance technology platforms. The Auto Finance segment purchases and/or services loans secured by automobiles from or for a pre-qualified network of independent automotive dealers and automotive finance companies in the buy-here, pay-here, and used car business. This segment also provides floor plan financing and installment lending products. It also invests in and services portfolios of credit card receivables. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.