Comparing Manhattan Bridge Capital (NASDAQ:LOAN) and Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance (NASDAQ:REFI)
by Mitch Edgeman · The Markets DailyChicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance (NASDAQ:REFI – Get Free Report) and Manhattan Bridge Capital (NASDAQ:LOAN – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends and risk.
Volatility & Risk
Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance has a beta of 0.24, meaning that its stock price is 76% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Manhattan Bridge Capital has a beta of 0.16, meaning that its stock price is 84% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
25.5% of Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 21.8% of Manhattan Bridge Capital shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.5% of Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 24.6% of Manhattan Bridge Capital shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance and Manhattan Bridge Capital, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2.40 |
| Manhattan Bridge Capital | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance presently has a consensus target price of $15.33, indicating a potential upside of 43.57%. Given Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance is more favorable than Manhattan Bridge Capital.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance and Manhattan Bridge Capital”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance | $55.39 million | 4.94 | $36.01 million | $1.37 | 7.80 |
| Manhattan Bridge Capital | $8.67 million | 5.37 | $5.11 million | $0.42 | 9.69 |
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.
Dividends
Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance pays an annual dividend of $1.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 17.6%. Manhattan Bridge Capital pays an annual dividend of $0.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 10.8%. 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 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 has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Manhattan Bridge Capital has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.
Profitability
This table compares Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance and Manhattan Bridge Capital’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance | 54.57% | 11.53% | 8.06% |
| Manhattan Bridge Capital | 58.30% | 11.02% | 7.59% |
Summary
Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance beats Manhattan Bridge Capital on 11 of the 16 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 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.