Critical Contrast: Manhattan Bridge Capital (NASDAQ:LOAN) and Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance (NASDAQ:REFI)

Manhattan Bridge Capital (NASDAQ:LOAN) and Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance (NASDAQ:REFI) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Manhattan Bridge Capital and Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Manhattan Bridge Capital	58.30%	11.02%	7.59%
Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance	54.57%	11.53%	8.06%

Risk & Volatility

Manhattan Bridge Capital has a beta of 0.15, meaning that its stock price is 85% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance has a beta of 0.26, meaning that its stock price is 74% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

21.8% of Manhattan Bridge Capital shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 25.5% of Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance shares are owned by institutional investors. 24.6% of Manhattan Bridge Capital shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 6.5% of Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance 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.

Dividends

Manhattan Bridge Capital pays an annual dividend of $0.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 10.9%. Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance pays an annual dividend of $1.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 17.3%. Manhattan Bridge Capital pays out 104.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance pays out 137.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Manhattan Bridge Capital has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Manhattan Bridge Capital and Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Manhattan Bridge Capital	0	1	0	0	2.00
Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance	0	3	2	0	2.40

Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance has a consensus target price of $15.33, suggesting a potential upside of 40.93%. Given Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance is more favorable than Manhattan Bridge Capital.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Manhattan Bridge Capital and Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Manhattan Bridge Capital	$8.67 million	5.34	$5.11 million	$0.42	9.64
Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance	$53.45 million	5.22	$36.01 million	$1.37	7.94

Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance has higher revenue and earnings than Manhattan Bridge Capital. Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Manhattan Bridge Capital, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance beats Manhattan Bridge Capital on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Manhattan Bridge Capital

Manhattan Bridge Capital, Inc., a real estate finance company, originates, services, and manages a portfolio of first mortgage loans in the United States. The company offers short-term, secured, and non-banking loans to real estate investors to fund acquisition, renovation, rehabilitation, or development of residential or commercial properties. Its loans are secured by collateral consisting of real estate and accompanied by personal guarantees from the principals of the borrowers. The company has elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust. As a result, it would not be subject to corporate income tax on that portion of its net income that is distributed to shareholders. The company was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Great Neck, New York.

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.