Contrasting CI Financial (NYSE:CIXXF) & Bridge Investment Group (NYSE:BRDG)

CI Financial (NYSE:CIXXF – Get Rating) and Bridge Investment Group (NYSE:BRDG – Get Rating) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, dividends, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for CI Financial and Bridge Investment Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CI Financial	0	3	0	0	2.00
Bridge Investment Group	0	2	3	0	2.60

Bridge Investment Group has a consensus target price of $16.25, suggesting a potential upside of 64.14%. Given Bridge Investment Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Bridge Investment Group is more favorable than CI Financial.

Dividends

CI Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.53 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.8%. Bridge Investment Group pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.9%. CI Financial pays out 44.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Bridge Investment Group pays out 113.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Volatility & Risk

CI Financial has a beta of 1.26, suggesting that its stock price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bridge Investment Group has a beta of 1.62, suggesting that its stock price is 62% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares CI Financial and Bridge Investment Group’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
CI Financial	$1.80 billion	0.95	$230.57 million	$1.20	7.63
Bridge Investment Group	$409.05 million	0.79	$27.27 million	$0.60	16.50

CI Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Bridge Investment Group. CI Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Bridge Investment Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares CI Financial and Bridge Investment Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
CI Financial	13.14%	34.97%	6.35%
Bridge Investment Group	4.71%	3.71%	2.06%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

34.2% of CI Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 59.4% of Bridge Investment Group shares are held by institutional investors. 65.9% of Bridge Investment Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

About CI Financial

(Get Rating)

CI Financial Corp. is an independent company offering global asset management and wealth management advisory services. It operates through the following business segments: Asset Management and Wealth Management. The Asset Management segment provides the majority of CI’s income and derives its revenue principally from the fees earned on the management of investment funds and other fee-earning investment products. The wealth management segment derives its revenues principally from commissions and fees earned through the provision of ongoing services to clients and on the sale of mutual funds and other financial products. The company was founded in 1965 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

About Bridge Investment Group

(Get Rating)

Bridge Investment Group Holdings Inc. engages in the real estate investment management business in the United States. It manages capital on behalf of approximately hundred global institutions and 6,500 individual investors across approximately 25 investment vehicles. The company was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.