Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) vs. CFN Enterprises (OTCMKTS:CNFN) Critical Analysis

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

Risk & Volatility

Atlanticus has a beta of 1.81, meaning that its share price is 81% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CFN Enterprises has a beta of 0.85, meaning that its share price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

14.2% of Atlanticus shares are held by institutional investors. 50.4% of Atlanticus shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 40.8% of CFN Enterprises shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Atlanticus and CFN Enterprises’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Atlanticus	8.54%	24.51%	3.76%
CFN Enterprises	-27.60%	N/A	-78.68%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Atlanticus and CFN Enterprises, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Atlanticus	0	1	3	1	3.00
CFN Enterprises	0	0	0	0	0.00

Atlanticus currently has a consensus target price of $62.60, suggesting a potential upside of 22.84%. Given Atlanticus’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Atlanticus is more favorable than CFN Enterprises.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Atlanticus and CFN Enterprises”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Atlanticus	$1.31 billion	0.59	$111.30 million	$5.17	9.86
CFN Enterprises	$20.22 million	1.39	-$4.29 million	($0.09)	-3.78

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

Summary

Atlanticus beats CFN Enterprises on 14 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About CFN Enterprises

CFN Enterprises Inc. engages in the sponsored content and marketing business in the United States. The company sets up and manages compliant and turnkey ad campaigns, as well as runs sponsored content, including articles, press releases, videos, podcasts, advertisements and other media, email advertisements, and other marketing campaigns for public and private companies. It also operates various media platforms, including CannabisFN.com, CFNMediaNews.com, and other venues to educate and inform investors interested in the cannabis industry; and distributes content across various online platforms, such as the CannabisFN.com website, press releases, financial news syndicates, search engines, YouTube, iTunes, Instagram, X, Facebook, LinkedIn, and others. In addition, the company is involved in the white label manufacturing and co-packing business; and cannabidiol manufacturing business. It serves cannabis, hemp, and wellness industries. The company was formerly known as Accelerize Inc. and changed its name to CFN Enterprises Inc. in October 2019. CFN Enterprises Inc. was founded in 2001 and is based in Whitefish, Montana.