Reviewing Equus Total Return (NYSE:EQS) & DevvStream (NASDAQ:DEVS)

DevvStream (NASDAQ:DEVS) and Equus Total Return (NYSE:EQS) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for DevvStream and Equus Total Return, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
DevvStream	1	0	0	0	1.00
Equus Total Return	1	0	0	0	1.00

Profitability

This table compares DevvStream and Equus Total Return’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
DevvStream	N/A	N/A	-202.28%
Equus Total Return	-1,408.24%	-14.25%	-11.34%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

75.8% of DevvStream shares are held by institutional investors. 3.3% of DevvStream shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 30.5% of Equus Total Return shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares DevvStream and Equus Total Return”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
DevvStream	$24,493.00	219.06	-$12.07 million	($1.54)	-0.10
Equus Total Return	$1.37 million	6.53	-$14.16 million	($1.40)	-0.46

DevvStream has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Equus Total Return. Equus Total Return is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than DevvStream, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

DevvStream has a beta of 0.36, suggesting that its stock price is 64% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Equus Total Return has a beta of 0.15, suggesting that its stock price is 85% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

DevvStream beats Equus Total Return on 6 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About DevvStream

DevvStream Holdings Inc. is a carbon credit project co-development and generation firm specializing in technology-based solutions. DevvStream Holdings Inc., formerly known as Focus Impact Acquisition Corp., is based in NEW YORK.

About Equus Total Return

Equus Total Return, Inc. is a business development company (BDC) specializing in leveraged buyouts, management buyouts, corporate partnerships/joint ventures, growth and expansion capital, acquisition financing, roll-up acquisition strategies, operational turnarounds, recapitalizations of existing businesses, special situations, equity and equity-oriented securities issued by privately owned companies, debt securities including subordinate debt, debt convertible into common or preferred stock, or debt combined with warrants and common and preferred stock, and preferred equity financing. It invests in small to mid-sized companies and acts as a lead investor. It invests in technology, telecommunication, financial services, natural resource and industrial manufacturing and services. It invests in companies engaged in the alternative energy, real estate, healthcare, education, e-learning, leisure and entertainment, and foreign investment sector in the United States, China, India, and Europe. It investments include common and preferred stock, debt convertible into common or preferred stock, debt combined with warrants and options, and other rights to acquire common or preferred stock. It seeks to invest in companies between $1 million to $25 million with revenues between $5 million and $150 million with EBITDA between $2 million to $50 million. It seeks to take control and non-control equity positions. Equus Total Return, Inc. was founded in 1991 and is based in Houston, Texas with additional office in Vancouver, Canada.