Atlantic International (NASDAQ:CIRC) versus Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) Head to Head Review

Atlantic International (NASDAQ:CIRC) and Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, profitability, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Risk and Volatility

Atlantic International has a beta of 0.81, indicating that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Medallion Financial has a beta of 0.81, indicating that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Atlantic International and Medallion Financial”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Atlantic International	$799.87 million	0.05	-$59.43 million	($2.11)	-0.22
Medallion Financial	$353.31 million	0.79	$43.04 million	$1.33	9.13

Medallion Financial has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Atlantic International. Atlantic International is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Medallion Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Atlantic International pays an annual dividend of $0.19 per share and has a dividend yield of 40.4%. Medallion Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.6%. Atlantic International pays out -9.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Medallion Financial pays out 42.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Atlantic International is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Atlantic International and Medallion Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Atlantic International	1	1	0	1	2.33
Medallion Financial	0	4	0	0	2.00

Medallion Financial has a consensus price target of $10.50, suggesting a potential downside of 13.51%. Given Medallion Financial’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Medallion Financial is more favorable than Atlantic International.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Atlantic International	-19.39%	N/A	-28.58%
Medallion Financial	9.25%	7.11%	1.20%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

40.6% of Medallion Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 13.6% of Atlantic International shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 24.6% of Medallion Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Medallion Financial beats Atlantic International on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Atlantic International

Atlantic International Corp., through its subsidiaries, operates as a staffing company servicing the commercial, professional, finance, direct placement, and managed service provider verticals. The company specializes in permanent, temporary, and temporary-to-permanent placement services in various areas, including accounting and finance, administrative and clerical, hospitality, information technology, legal, light industrial, and medical fields. It also provides productivity consulting and workforce management solutions. Atlantic International Corp. was founded in 2018 and is based in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.

About Medallion Financial

Medallion Financial Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty finance company in the United States. It operates in four segments: Recreation Lending, Home Improvement Lending, Commercial Lending, and Taxi Medallion Lending. The company offers loans that finance consumer purchases of recreational vehicles, boats, and other consumer recreational equipment; consumer financing for window, siding, and roof replacement, swimming pool installations, and other home improvement projects; senior and subordinated loans for the purchase of equipment and related assets necessary to open a new business, or purchase or improvement of an existing business; and taxi medallion loans to individuals and small to mid-size businesses. It also provides debt, mezzanine, and equity investment capital to companies in various commercial industries; and raises deposits and conducts other banking activities. Medallion Financial Corp. was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in New York City, New York.