Head-To-Head Review: X Financial (NYSE:XYF) & Lichen International (NASDAQ:LICN)

Lichen International (NASDAQ:LICN) and X Financial (NYSE:XYF) 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, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, dividends and institutional ownership.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

1.2% of X Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 31.6% of X Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Lichen International and X Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lichen International	1	0	0	0	1.00
X Financial	0	1	0	0	2.00

Profitability

This table compares Lichen International and X Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lichen International	N/A	N/A	N/A
X Financial	22.75%	24.56%	14.10%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Lichen International and X Financial”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lichen International	$41.48 million	0.04	-$6.14 million	N/A	N/A
X Financial	$804.43 million	0.27	$210.97 million	$5.66	0.92

X Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Lichen International.

Risk & Volatility

Lichen International has a beta of 1.13, meaning that its share price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, X Financial has a beta of 0.46, meaning that its share price is 54% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

X Financial beats Lichen International on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lichen International

Lichen China Limited, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an investment holding company, provides financial and taxation, education support, and software and maintenance services in the People's Republic of China and internationally. The company offers financial and taxation related management consultation, internal control management consultation, annual or regular consultation, and internal training and general consultation services; and education support services, including marketing, operational, and technical support, as well as sells teaching and learning materials. It also provides Lichen Education Accounting Practice System V1.0, a financial and taxation training software, and academic affairs management system to partnered institutions under the partnership agreements, as well as offers software installation, training, and after sales technical and maintenance support services. Lichen China Limited was founded in 2004 and is based in Jinjiang, China.

About X Financial

X Financial provides personal finance services in the People’s Republic of China. The company offers services as an online marketplace connecting borrowers and investors or institutional funding partners. Its loan products include Xiaoying credit loan, which consists of Xiaoying card loan; and Xiaoying preferred loan to small business owners. The company also offers Xiaoying housing loan, a home equity loan product for property owners; investment products through Xiaoying wealth management platform, such as funds, money market, and insurance products; and loan facilitation services to other platforms. In addition, it engages in the technology development, service, and sale of products; and provision of guarantee and consulting services. The company was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in Shenzhen, the People’s Republic of China.