Reviewing Fluent (NASDAQ:FLNT) and X3 (NASDAQ:XTKG)

X3 (NASDAQ:XTKG) and Fluent (NASDAQ:FLNT) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares X3 and Fluent’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
X3	N/A	N/A	N/A
Fluent	-12.47%	-109.15%	-29.76%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

1.9% of X3 shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 23.3% of Fluent shares are owned by institutional investors. 23.9% of X3 shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 43.5% of Fluent shares are owned by company 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 & Valuation

This table compares X3 and Fluent”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
X3	$11.61 million	0.01	-$76.24 million	N/A	N/A
Fluent	$254.62 million	0.38	-$29.28 million	($1.15)	-2.85

Fluent has higher revenue and earnings than X3.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for X3 and Fluent, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
X3	1	0	0	0	1.00
Fluent	0	1	0	0	2.00

Fluent has a consensus price target of $2.50, indicating a potential downside of 23.78%. Given Fluent’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Fluent is more favorable than X3.

Volatility and Risk

X3 has a beta of 1.7, suggesting that its share price is 70% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Fluent has a beta of 0.95, suggesting that its share price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Fluent beats X3 on 7 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About X3

X3 Holdings Co Ltd. provides technology solutions and services worldwide. The company offers Global Trade Platform, a digital platform for trading partners, service providers, and government authorities. It also engages in bitcoin cryptomining operations, renewable energy projects, and agriculture technologies and trading. The company was formerly known as Powerbridge Technologies Co., Ltd. and changed its name to X3 Holdings Co Ltd. in January 2024. X3 Holdings Co Ltd. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Singapore.

About Fluent

Fluent, Inc. provides data-driven digital marketing services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Fluent and All Other segments. It offers customer acquisition services by operating digital marketing campaigns, through which the company connects its advertiser clients with consumers. The company also delivers data and performance-based marketing executions to various consumer brands, direct marketers, and agencies across a range of industries, including financial products and services, media and entertainment, health and life sciences, retail and consumer, and staffing and recruitment. Fluent, Inc. was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in New York, New York.