Jernigan Capital (NASDAQ:JCAP) vs. Katapult (NASDAQ:KPLT) Critical Comparison

Jernigan Capital (NASDAQ:JCAP) and Katapult (NASDAQ:KPLT) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Jernigan Capital and Katapult’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Jernigan Capital	23.50%	35.87%	8.16%
Katapult	3.60%	-26.41%	10.86%

Risk and Volatility

Jernigan Capital has a beta of -0.16, indicating that its share price is 116% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Katapult has a beta of 1.51, indicating that its share price is 51% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

26.8% of Katapult shares are held by institutional investors. 8.3% of Jernigan Capital shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 8.0% of Katapult shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Jernigan Capital and Katapult, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Jernigan Capital	0	2	4	1	2.86
Katapult	1	0	0	0	1.00

Jernigan Capital currently has a consensus target price of $27.50, suggesting a potential upside of 15.11%. Given Jernigan Capital’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Jernigan Capital is more favorable than Katapult.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Jernigan Capital and Katapult”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Jernigan Capital	$613.29 million	2.40	$187.96 million	$2.45	9.75
Katapult	$291.76 million	0.12	$1.37 million	$1.37	5.07

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

Summary

Jernigan Capital beats Katapult on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Jernigan Capital

Jernigan Capital is a New York Stock Exchange-listed real estate investment trust (NYSE: JCAP) that provides debt and equity capital to private developers, owners and operators of self-storage facilities with a view to eventual outright ownership of facilities the Company finances. The Company's mission is to maximize shareholder value by accumulating a multi-billion dollar investment portfolio consisting of the newest, most attractive and best located self-storage facilities in the United States through a talented and experienced team demonstrating the highest levels of integrity, dedication, excellence and community.

About Katapult

Katapult Holdings, Inc., an e-commerce focused financial technology company, provides e-commerce point-of-sale lease-purchase options for nonprime consumers in the United States. The company's technology platform provides nonprime consumers with a lease purchase option to enable them to obtain durable goods from its network of e-commerce retailers. It also offers Katapult Pay, a one-time use virtual card technology that makes lease purchasing and transactions. The company was formerly known as Cognical Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to Katapult Holdings, Inc. in February 2020. The company is headquartered in Plano, Texas.