Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI – Get Free Report) and ATIF (NASDAQ:ZBAI – Get Free Report) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, risk, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations and dividends.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Charles River Associates and ATIF, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Charles River Associates | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3.00 |
| ATIF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
Charles River Associates currently has a consensus price target of $239.00, indicating a potential upside of 37.93%. Given Charles River Associates’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Charles River Associates is more favorable than ATIF.
Profitability
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Charles River Associates | 7.93% | 25.51% | 9.12% |
| ATIF | N/A | -90.49% | -79.46% |
Risk and Volatility
Charles River Associates has a beta of 0.93, meaning that its stock price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ATIF has a beta of -0.6, meaning that its stock price is 160% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Charles River Associates and ATIF”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Charles River Associates | $731.06 million | 1.56 | $46.65 million | $8.32 | 20.83 |
| ATIF | $620,000.00 | 10.64 | -$3.19 million | ($7.19) | -0.96 |
Charles River Associates has higher revenue and earnings than ATIF. ATIF is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Charles River Associates, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
84.1% of Charles River Associates shares are held by institutional investors. 5.2% of Charles River Associates shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 32.2% of ATIF shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Summary
Charles River Associates beats ATIF on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Charles River Associates
CRA International, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides economic, financial, and management consulting services worldwide. It advises clients on economic and financial matters pertaining to litigation and regulatory proceedings; and guides corporations through business strategy and performance-related issues. The company also offers consulting services, including research and analysis, expert testimony, and support in litigation and regulatory proceedings in the areas of finance, accounting, economics, insurance, and forensic accounting and investigations to corporate clients and attorneys. In addition, it offers management consulting services comprising strategy development, performance improvement, corporate strategy and portfolio analysis, estimation of market demand, environmental, social and corporate governance and sustainability strategy and analysis, design and implementation of auction and bidding, new product pricing strategies, survey and market research, valuation of intellectual property and other assets, assessment of competitors’ actions, and analysis of new sources of supply. The company serves various industries, including communications and media; consumer, health, and wellness products; energy; entertainment and leisure; financial services; healthcare; life sciences; manufacturing and industries; natural resources; retail and distribution; technology; and transportation. CRA International, Inc. was incorporated in 1965 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.
About ATIF
ATIF Holdings Ltd. engages in the provision of financial consulting services. It is also involved in merger and acquisition business advisory, post-listing compliance, management support, and related services. The company was founded on January 5, 2015 and is headquartered in Lake Forest, CA.
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