Critical Review: The OLB Group (NASDAQ:OLB) vs. Emerald (NYSE:EEX)

Emerald (NYSE:EEX) and The OLB Group (NASDAQ:OLB) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, profitability, institutional ownership and valuation.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Emerald and The OLB Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Emerald	$382.80 million	2.68	-$8.20 million	($0.54)	-9.37
The OLB Group	$30.57 million	0.14	-$23.18 million	($5.65)	-0.35

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

14.9% of Emerald shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 3.8% of The OLB Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 11.5% of Emerald shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 36.1% of The OLB Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Emerald has a beta of 1.39, indicating that its stock price is 39% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, The OLB Group has a beta of 2.38, indicating that its stock price is 138% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Emerald and The OLB Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Emerald	0	0	2	0	3.00
The OLB Group	0	0	0	0	0.00

Emerald currently has a consensus price target of $7.90, indicating a potential upside of 56.13%. Given Emerald’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Emerald is more favorable than The OLB Group.

Profitability

This table compares Emerald and The OLB Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Emerald	-5.29%	-13.26%	-1.92%
The OLB Group	-155.02%	-258.34%	-140.87%

Summary

Emerald beats The OLB Group on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Emerald

Emerald Holding, Inc. operates business-to-business (B2B) trade shows in the United States. The company provides B2B trade show franchises; and B2B print publications and digital media products, which provide industry specific business news and information across various sectors. It also offers B2B e-commerce and digital merchandising solutions to manufacturers and retailers through Elastic Suite and Bulletin platforms. The company serves retail, design, technology, equipment, and safety and security. Emerald Holding, Inc. was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About The OLB Group

The OLB Group, Inc. is a diversified fintech e-commerce merchant services provider and Bitcoin crypto mining enterprise. The Company’s eCommerce platform delivers e-commerce services for a digital commerce solution to over 10,500 merchants in all 50 states. The Company’s wholly owned subsidiary, DMINT, Inc, is engaged in the mining of Bitcoin utilizing low carbon natural gas with over 1,000 application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)-based S19j Pro 96T mining computers. www.olb.com and www.olb.com/investors-data.