Lichen International (NASDAQ:LICN) and Heritage Global (NASDAQ:HGBL) Head to Head Analysis

Heritage Global (NASDAQ:HGBL) and Lichen International (NASDAQ:LICN) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk and dividends.

Volatility & Risk

Heritage Global has a beta of 0.62, suggesting that its stock price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lichen International has a beta of 1.17, suggesting that its stock price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Heritage Global and Lichen International”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Heritage Global	$45.36 million	1.03	$5.18 million	$0.09	14.89
Lichen International	$37.64 million	0.05	-$6.14 million	N/A	N/A

Heritage Global has higher revenue and earnings than Lichen International.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

33.5% of Heritage Global shares are owned by institutional investors. 14.0% of Heritage Global shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Heritage Global and Lichen International’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Heritage Global	6.18%	4.69%	3.60%
Lichen International	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Heritage Global and Lichen International, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Heritage Global	1	1	1	1	2.50
Lichen International	1	0	0	0	1.00

Heritage Global presently has a consensus price target of $4.00, indicating a potential upside of 198.51%. Given Heritage Global’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Heritage Global is more favorable than Lichen International.

Summary

Heritage Global beats Lichen International on 12 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Heritage Global

Heritage Global Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an asset services company with focus on financial and industrial asset transactions. The company operates in three segments: Auction and Liquidation, Refurbishment & Resale, and Brokerage. It provides a suite of market making, acquisitions, refurbishment, dispositions, valuations, and secured lending services. The company focuses on identifying, valuing, acquiring, and monetizing underlying tangible assets. It acts as an adviser, as well as a principal, acquiring, or brokering manufacturing facilities; surplus industrial machinery and equipment; industrial inventories; and charged-off receivable portfolios. The company was formerly known as Counsel RB Capital Inc. and changed its name to Heritage Global, Inc. in August 2013. Heritage Global, Inc. was founded in 1937 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

About Lichen International

Lichen China Limited, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an investment holding company, provides financial and taxation, education support, and software and maintenance services in the People's Republic of China and internationally. The company offers financial and taxation related management consultation, internal control management consultation, annual or regular consultation, and internal training and general consultation services; and education support services, including marketing, operational, and technical support, as well as sells teaching and learning materials. It also provides Lichen Education Accounting Practice System V1.0, a financial and taxation training software, and academic affairs management system to partnered institutions under the partnership agreements, as well as offers software installation, training, and after sales technical and maintenance support services. Lichen China Limited was founded in 2004 and is based in Jinjiang, China.