Critical Survey: Lesaka Technologies (NASDAQ:LSAK) versus QC (OTCMKTS:QCCO)

Lesaka Technologies (NASDAQ:LSAK – Get Rating) and QC (OTCMKTS:QCCO – Get Rating) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, profitability, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Lesaka Technologies and QC’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lesaka Technologies	-7.42%	-14.06%	-4.77%
QC	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Lesaka Technologies and QC, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lesaka Technologies	0	0	1	0	3.00
QC	0	0	0	0	N/A

Volatility and Risk

Lesaka Technologies has a beta of 1.08, meaning that its share price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, QC has a beta of 1.02, meaning that its share price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

56.3% of Lesaka Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 3.4% of QC shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.7% of Lesaka Technologies shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 63.4% of QC shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Lesaka Technologies and QC’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lesaka Technologies	$222.61 million	1.07	-$43.88 million	($0.62)	-6.24
QC	$152.82 million	0.06	-$2.85 million	N/A	N/A

QC has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Lesaka Technologies.

About Lesaka Technologies

(Get Rating)

Lesaka Technologies, Inc. engages in the provision of financial technology, products, and services to unbanked and underbanked individuals and small businesses in South Africa and other emerging economies. It operates through the following segments: Consumer, Merchant, and Other. The Consumer segment deals with the provision of financial services to customers, including a bank account, loans and insurance products. The Merchant segment refers to goods and services provided to corporate and other juristic entities. The Other segment includes operations outside South Africa and IPG’s processing activities. The company was founded by Serge Christian Pierre Belamant in 1989 and is headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa.

About QC

(Get Rating)

QC Holdings, Inc. provides financial services and is focused on providing credit solutions for underserved consumers and small business. The firm engages in check cashing and short term lending. It also offers long term installment loans, online loans, and factoring for the small business. The company was founded by Don Allen Early and Mary Lou Andersen-Early in 1984 and is headquartered in Lenexa, KS.