Financial Survey: Uniti Group (NASDAQ:UNIT) vs. Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance (NASDAQ:REFI)

Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance (NASDAQ:REFI) and Uniti Group (NASDAQ:UNIT) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation and institutional ownership.

Dividends

Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance pays an annual dividend of $1.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 13.1%. Uniti Group pays an annual dividend of $0.45 per share and has a dividend yield of 10.3%. Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance 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. Uniti Group pays out 173.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance and Uniti Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance	$54.59 million	5.52	$38.71 million	$1.88	7.64
Uniti Group	$1.17 billion	0.91	-$81.71 million	$0.26	16.73

Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Uniti Group. Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Uniti Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance has a beta of 0.25, suggesting that its stock price is 75% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Uniti Group has a beta of 1.48, suggesting that its stock price is 48% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance and Uniti Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance	0	0	2	0	3.00
Uniti Group	0	3	0	1	2.50

Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance currently has a consensus price target of $20.00, suggesting a potential upside of 39.28%. Uniti Group has a consensus price target of $5.95, suggesting a potential upside of 36.78%. Given Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance is more favorable than Uniti Group.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

25.5% of Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.5% of Uniti Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.3% of Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.7% of Uniti Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance and Uniti Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance	64.57%	13.17%	10.10%
Uniti Group	8.82%	-4.12%	2.02%

Summary

Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance beats Uniti Group on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance

Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance, Inc. operates as a commercial real estate finance company in the United States. The company engages in originating, structuring, and investing in first mortgage loans and alternative structured financings secured by commercial real estate properties. Its portfolio primarily includes offers senior loans to state-licensed operators in the cannabis industry. The company has elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust (REIT) and would not be subject to federal corporate income taxes if it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its stockholders. Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance, Inc. was incorporated in 2021 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

About Uniti Group

Uniti Group, Inc. is a real estate investment trust company, which engages in the acquisition, construction, and leasing of properties. It operates through the following business segments: Uniti Leasing, Uniti Fiber, and Corporate. The Uniti Leasing segment involves mission-critical communications assets on exclusive or shared-tenant basis, and dark fiber network. The Uniti Fiber segment includes the operation of infrastructure solutions, cell site backhauls, and dark fiber. The Corporate segment consists of office and shared service functions. The company was founded in February 2014 and is headquartered in Little Rock, AR.