Analyzing Chicago Atlantic BDC (LIEN) & The Competition

Chicago Atlantic BDC (NASDAQ:LIEN) is one of 1,743 publicly-traded companies in the “Capital Markets” industry, but how does it compare to its rivals? We will compare Chicago Atlantic BDC to similar companies based on the strength of its analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, valuation, dividends and profitability.

Volatility and Risk

Chicago Atlantic BDC has a beta of 0.31, suggesting that its stock price is 69% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Chicago Atlantic BDC’s rivals have a beta of 0.81, suggesting that their average stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Chicago Atlantic BDC and its rivals top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Chicago Atlantic BDC	$54.30 million	$33.28 million	6.53
Chicago Atlantic BDC Competitors	$5.22 billion	$399.10 million	17.40

Chicago Atlantic BDC’s rivals have higher revenue and earnings than Chicago Atlantic BDC. Chicago Atlantic BDC is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Profitability

This table compares Chicago Atlantic BDC and its rivals’ 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%
Chicago Atlantic BDC Competitors	318.24%	11.44%	3.69%

Dividends

Chicago Atlantic BDC pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 15.0%. Chicago Atlantic BDC pays out 97.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. As a group, “Capital Markets” companies pay a dividend yield of 3.2% and pay out 29.1% of their earnings in the form of a dividend.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

4.4% of Chicago Atlantic BDC shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 30.5% of shares of all “Capital Markets” companies are held by institutional investors. 12.9% of Chicago Atlantic BDC shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 13.1% of shares of all “Capital Markets” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Chicago Atlantic BDC and its rivals, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Chicago Atlantic BDC	0	1	0	0	2.00
Chicago Atlantic BDC Competitors	5561	20139	22479	642	2.37

As a group, “Capital Markets” companies have a potential upside of 26.42%. Given Chicago Atlantic BDC’s rivals stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Chicago Atlantic BDC has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.

Summary

Chicago Atlantic BDC rivals beat Chicago Atlantic BDC on 12 of the 15 factors compared.

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.