Analyzing LICT (OTCMKTS:LICT) and ATN International (NASDAQ:ATNI)

LICT (OTCMKTS:LICT) and ATN International (NASDAQ:ATNI) are both small-cap utilities companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings and valuation.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares LICT and ATN International’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
LICT	$129.14 million	2.68	$24.92 million	N/A	N/A
ATN International	$762.22 million	0.44	-$14.54 million	($1.30)	-17.03

LICT has higher earnings, but lower revenue than ATN International.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for LICT and ATN International, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
LICT	0	0	0	0	N/A
ATN International	0	0	1	1	3.50

ATN International has a consensus target price of $31.00, indicating a potential upside of 40.02%. Given ATN International’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe ATN International is more favorable than LICT.

Profitability

This table compares LICT and ATN International’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
LICT	N/A	N/A	N/A
ATN International	-1.96%	-1.17%	-0.42%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

65.5% of ATN International shares are held by institutional investors. 26.1% of LICT shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.5% of ATN International shares are held 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.

Risk and Volatility

LICT has a beta of 0.4, meaning that its share price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ATN International has a beta of 0.56, meaning that its share price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500.

About LICT

LICT Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides broadband, voice, and video services to residential, commercial, and governmental customers. The company offers high speed broadband services, including internet access through copper-based digital subscriber lines, fiber optic facilities, fixed wireless, and cable modems; video services through traditional cable television services and internet protocol television services; voice over internet protocol services; wireless voice communications services; and other telecommunications related services. It operates in California, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico, Utah, and Wisconsin. The company was formerly known as Lynch Interactive Corporation and changed its name to LICT Corporation in March 2007. LICT Corporation was incorporated in 1996 and is based in Rye, New York.

About ATN International

ATN International, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of digital infrastructure and communications services to residential, business, and government customers in the United States and internationally. The company operates through International Telecom and US Telecom segments. The company offers mobile, data, voice, broadband, and fixed services; handsets and accessories; and wholesale roaming, long distance voice services, and site maintenance services. It also leases critical network infrastructure, including towers and transport facilities; and provides managed information technology services, such as network, application, infrastructure, and hosting services. The company was formerly known as Atlantic Tele-Network, Inc. and changed its name to ATN International, Inc. in June 2016. ATN International, Inc. was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Beverly, Massachusetts.