Atlantic International (NASDAQ:CIRC) and Qfin (NASDAQ:QFIN) Head-To-Head Comparison

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

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Qfin and Atlantic International”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Qfin	$2.75 billion	0.26	$856.52 million	$4.16	1.40
Atlantic International	$799.87 million	0.04	-$59.43 million	($2.11)	-0.15

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

Volatility and Risk

Qfin has a beta of 0.55, indicating that its stock price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Atlantic International has a beta of 0.75, indicating that its stock price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Qfin	22.23%	15.23%	6.60%
Atlantic International	-19.39%	N/A	-28.58%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Qfin and Atlantic International, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Qfin	4	3	1	0	1.62
Atlantic International	1	0	0	1	2.50

Qfin currently has a consensus price target of $12.29, indicating a potential upside of 111.14%. Given Qfin’s higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Qfin is more favorable than Atlantic International.

Dividends

Qfin pays an annual dividend of $0.90 per share and has a dividend yield of 15.5%. Atlantic International pays an annual dividend of $0.19 per share and has a dividend yield of 59.7%. Qfin pays out 21.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Atlantic International pays out -9.0% 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.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

74.8% of Qfin shares are held by institutional investors. 17.1% of Qfin shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 7.6% of Atlantic International shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Qfin beats Atlantic International on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Qfin

Qifu Technology, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates credit-tech platform under the 360 Jietiao brand in the People's Republic of China. It provides credit-driven services that matches borrowers with financial institutions to conduct customer acquisition, initial and credit screening, advanced risk assessment, credit assessment, fund matching, and other post-facilitation services; and platform services, including loan facilitation and post-facilitation services to financial institution partners under intelligence credit engine, referral services, and risk management software-as-a-service. The company also offers e-commerce loans, enterprise loans, and invoice loans to SME owners. It serves financial institutions, consumers, and small- and micro-enterprises. The company was formerly known as 360 DigiTech, Inc. and changed its name to Qifu Technology, Inc. in March 2023. The company was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Shanghai, the People's Republic of China.

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.