Comparing ATIF (NASDAQ:ZBAI) and Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI)

ATIF (NASDAQ:ZBAI) and Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, profitability, valuation and risk.

Volatility and Risk

ATIF has a beta of -0.6, suggesting that its stock price is 160% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Charles River Associates has a beta of 0.93, suggesting that its stock price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares ATIF and Charles River Associates’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ATIF	N/A	-90.49%	-79.46%
Charles River Associates	7.93%	25.51%	9.12%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

84.1% of Charles River Associates shares are held by institutional investors. 32.2% of ATIF shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.2% of Charles River Associates shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for ATIF and Charles River Associates, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ATIF	1	0	0	0	1.00
Charles River Associates	0	0	2	0	3.00

Charles River Associates has a consensus target price of $239.00, indicating a potential upside of 37.93%. Given Charles River Associates’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Charles River Associates is more favorable than ATIF.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares ATIF and Charles River Associates”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ATIF	$620,000.00	10.64	-$3.19 million	($7.19)	-0.96
Charles River Associates	$731.06 million	1.56	$46.65 million	$8.32	20.83

Charles River Associates has higher revenue and earnings than ATIF. ATIF is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Charles River Associates, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Charles River Associates beats ATIF on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ATIF

ATIF Holdings Ltd. engages in the provision of financial consulting services. It is also involved in merger and acquisition business advisory, post-listing compliance, management support, and related services. The company was founded on January 5, 2015 and is headquartered in Lake Forest, CA.

About Charles River Associates

CRA International, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides economic, financial, and management consulting services worldwide. It advises clients on economic and financial matters pertaining to litigation and regulatory proceedings; and guides corporations through business strategy and performance-related issues. The company also offers consulting services, including research and analysis, expert testimony, and support in litigation and regulatory proceedings in the areas of finance, accounting, economics, insurance, and forensic accounting and investigations to corporate clients and attorneys. In addition, it offers management consulting services comprising strategy development, performance improvement, corporate strategy and portfolio analysis, estimation of market demand, environmental, social and corporate governance and sustainability strategy and analysis, design and implementation of auction and bidding, new product pricing strategies, survey and market research, valuation of intellectual property and other assets, assessment of competitors’ actions, and analysis of new sources of supply. The company serves various industries, including communications and media; consumer, health, and wellness products; energy; entertainment and leisure; financial services; healthcare; life sciences; manufacturing and industries; natural resources; retail and distribution; technology; and transportation. CRA International, Inc. was incorporated in 1965 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.