Critical Review: Lichen China (NASDAQ:LICN) & The RMR Group (NASDAQ:RMR)

Lichen China (NASDAQ:LICN) and The RMR Group (NASDAQ:RMR) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, risk, institutional ownership and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Lichen China and The RMR Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lichen China	N/A	N/A	N/A
The RMR Group	2.62%	5.83%	3.81%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Lichen China and The RMR Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lichen China	0	0	0	0	0.00
The RMR Group	0	1	1	0	2.50

The RMR Group has a consensus price target of $32.00, indicating a potential upside of 89.46%. Given The RMR Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe The RMR Group is more favorable than Lichen China.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

42.3% of The RMR Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 54.8% of The RMR Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Lichen China has a beta of -0.46, indicating that its stock price is 146% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, The RMR Group has a beta of 1.19, indicating that its stock price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Lichen China and The RMR Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lichen China	$41.93 million	0.04	$8.34 million	N/A	N/A
The RMR Group	$855.39 million	0.63	$23.13 million	$1.33	12.70

The RMR Group has higher revenue and earnings than Lichen China.

Summary

The RMR Group beats Lichen China on 12 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lichen China

Lichen China Limited, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an investment holding company, provides financial and taxation, education support, and software and maintenance services in the People's Republic of China and internationally. The company offers financial and taxation related management consultation, internal control management consultation, annual or regular consultation, and internal training and general consultation services; and education support services, including marketing, operational, and technical support, as well as sells teaching and learning materials. It also provides Lichen Education Accounting Practice System V1.0, a financial and taxation training software, and academic affairs management system to partnered institutions under the partnership agreements, as well as offers software installation, training, and after sales technical and maintenance support services. Lichen China Limited was founded in 2004 and is based in Jinjiang, China.

About The RMR Group

The RMR Group Inc., through its subsidiary, The RMR Group LLC, provides asset management services in the United States. The company offers management services to its four publicly traded real estate investment trusts, three real estate operating companies, and private capital vehicles. It also provides advisory services to publicly traded mortgage real estate investment trust. The company was formerly known as REIT Management & Research Inc. and changed its name to The RMR Group Inc. in October 2015. The RMR Group Inc. was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Newton, Massachusetts.