Chicago Atlantic BDC (NASDAQ:LIEN – Get Free Report) and StoneX Group (NASDAQ:SNEX – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation and institutional ownership.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings for Chicago Atlantic BDC and StoneX Group, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Chicago Atlantic BDC | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
| StoneX Group | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3.00 |
StoneX Group has a consensus target price of $112.00, indicating a potential upside of 67.33%. Given StoneX Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe StoneX Group is more favorable than Chicago Atlantic BDC.
Valuation and Earnings
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Chicago Atlantic BDC | $40.13 million | 5.80 | $33.28 million | $1.39 | 7.34 |
| StoneX Group | $157.71 billion | 0.05 | $305.90 million | $4.19 | 15.97 |
StoneX Group has higher revenue and earnings than Chicago Atlantic BDC. Chicago Atlantic BDC is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than StoneX Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
4.4% of Chicago Atlantic BDC shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.9% of StoneX Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 12.9% of Chicago Atlantic BDC shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 11.8% of StoneX Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Profitability
This table compares Chicago Atlantic BDC and StoneX Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Chicago Atlantic BDC | 52.82% | 11.66% | 10.21% |
| StoneX Group | 0.33% | 20.18% | 1.05% |
Risk and Volatility
Chicago Atlantic BDC has a beta of 0.3, indicating that its stock price is 70% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, StoneX Group has a beta of 0.63, indicating that its stock price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
StoneX Group beats Chicago Atlantic BDC on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Chicago Atlantic BDC
Chicago Atlantic BDC Inc. is a specialty finance company which has elected to be regulated as a business development company. Its investment objective is to maximize risk-adjusted returns on equity for its stockholders by investing primarily in direct loans to privately held middle-market companies, with a primary focus on cannabis companies. Chicago Atlantic BDC Inc., formerly known as CHICAGO ATLNTIC, is based in NEW YORK.
About StoneX Group
StoneX Group Inc. operates as a global financial services network that connects companies, organizations, traders, and investors to market ecosystem worldwide. The company operates through Commercial, Institutional, Retail, and Global Payments segments. The Commercial segment provides risk management and hedging, exchange-traded and OTC products execution and clearing, voice brokerage, market intelligence, physical trading, and commodity financing and logistics services. The Institutional segment offers equity trading services to institutional clients; clearing and execution services in futures exchanges; brokerage foreign exchange services for the financial institutions and professional traders; and OTC products, as well as originates, structures, and places debt instruments in capital markets. This segment also operates as an institutional dealer in fixed income securities to serve asset managers, commercial bank trust and investment departments, broker-dealers, and insurance companies, as well as engages in asset management business. The Retail segment provides trading services and solutions in the global financial markets, including spot foreign exchange, precious metals trading, and contracts for differences; and wealth management services, as well as offers physical gold and other precious metals in various forms and denominations through Stonexbullion.com. The Global Payments segment provides customized payment, technology, and treasury services to banks and commercial businesses, charities, and non-governmental and government organizations; and pricing and payments services. The company was formerly known as INTL FCStone Inc. and changed its name to StoneX Group Inc. in July 2020. StoneX Group Inc. was founded in 1924 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
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