Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance (NASDAQ:REFI – Get Free Report) and Ponce Financial Group (NASDAQ:PDLB – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, risk, dividends, valuation and earnings.
Volatility and Risk
Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance has a beta of 0.22, indicating that its share price is 78% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ponce Financial Group has a beta of 0.72, indicating that its share price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
25.5% of Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 64.4% of Ponce Financial Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.3% of Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 7.2% of Ponce Financial Group shares are owned 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.
Analyst Ratings
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
| Ponce Financial Group | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3.00 |
Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance currently has a consensus target price of $14.00, indicating a potential upside of 17.15%. Given Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance is more favorable than Ponce Financial Group.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance and Ponce Financial Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance | $54.95 million | 4.58 | $37.04 million | $1.69 | 7.07 |
| Ponce Financial Group | $194.94 million | 2.06 | $28.70 million | $1.19 | 14.03 |
Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Ponce Financial Group. Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ponce Financial Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance and Ponce Financial Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance | 64.78% | 11.94% | 8.55% |
| Ponce Financial Group | 14.72% | 9.68% | 0.92% |
Summary
Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance beats Ponce Financial Group on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance
Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance, Inc. operates as a commercial real estate finance company in the United States. The company engages in originating, structuring, and investing in first mortgage loans and alternative structured financings secured by commercial real estate properties. Its portfolio primarily includes offers senior loans to state-licensed operators in the cannabis industry. The company has elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust (REIT) and would not be subject to federal corporate income taxes if it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its stockholders. Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance, Inc. was incorporated in 2021 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
About Ponce Financial Group
Ponce Financial Group, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Ponce Bank that provides various banking products and services. It offers various deposit products, including demand accounts, NOW/IOLA, money market, reciprocal deposits, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit to individuals, business entities, and non-profit organizations, as well as individual retirement accounts. The company also provides real estate-secured loans, which includes one-to-four family investor-owned and owner-occupied residential; multifamily residential; nonresidential property; construction and land; commercial and industrial; and business and consumer loans, as well as lines of credit. In addition, it invests in securities, which consist of U.S. Government and federal agency securities and securities issued by government-sponsored or owned enterprises, as well as corporate securities, mortgage-backed securities, and Federal Home Loan Bank stock. Ponce Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 1960 and is headquartered in Bronx, New York.
Receive News & Ratings for Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
