Critical Survey: Atlantic International (NASDAQ:CIRC) & Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD)

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

Risk & Volatility

Atlantic International has a beta of 0.82, indicating that its share price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Upbound Group has a beta of 1.8, indicating that its share price is 80% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

90.3% of Upbound Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 19.2% of Atlantic International shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of Upbound Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Atlantic International and Upbound Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Atlantic International	$435.88 million	0.05	-$59.43 million	($2.11)	-0.09
Upbound Group	$4.70 billion	0.31	$73.24 million	$1.90	13.30

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

Profitability

This table compares Atlantic International and Upbound Group’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%
Upbound Group	2.36%	33.81%	7.79%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Atlantic International and Upbound Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Atlantic International	1	0	0	1	2.50
Upbound Group	0	3	1	0	2.25

Upbound Group has a consensus price target of $27.00, suggesting a potential upside of 6.85%. Given Upbound Group’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Upbound Group is more favorable than Atlantic International.

Summary

Upbound Group beats Atlantic International on 12 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.

About Upbound Group

Upbound Group, Inc. provides lease-to-own and retail services through brands including Rent-A-Center and Acima. Its offerings let customers obtain merchandise through flexible payment arrangements, with the option to own items after completing the required payments. The company’s products include furniture, appliances, electronics, computers and smartphones. Rent-A-Center serves customers through company-operated stores and franchise locations, while Acima provides lease-to-own options through participating retail partners and online channels.