Contrasting Chicago Atlantic BDC (NASDAQ:LIEN) and StoneX Group (NASDAQ:SNEX)

Chicago Atlantic BDC (NASDAQ:LIEN) and StoneX Group (NASDAQ:SNEX) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Chicago Atlantic BDC and StoneX Group, as provided 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	2	1	1	2.75

StoneX Group has a consensus target price of $112.00, indicating a potential upside of 60.53%. Given StoneX Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe StoneX Group is more favorable than Chicago Atlantic BDC.

Risk and Volatility

Chicago Atlantic BDC has a beta of 0.3, indicating that its share price is 70% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, StoneX Group has a beta of 0.63, indicating that its share price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & 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 company insiders. Comparatively, 11.8% of StoneX Group shares are owned by company 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 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%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Chicago Atlantic BDC and StoneX 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 BDC	$54.30 million	4.28	$33.28 million	$1.39	7.32
StoneX Group	$132.38 billion	0.06	$305.90 million	$4.19	16.65

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.

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.