Comparing Horizon Technology Finance (NASDAQ:HRZN) and Nuveen Municipal Income Fund (NYSE:NMI)

Nuveen Municipal Income Fund (NYSE:NMI) and Horizon Technology Finance (NASDAQ:HRZN) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, profitability and valuation.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

16.6% of Nuveen Municipal Income Fund shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 4.9% of Horizon Technology Finance shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Nuveen Municipal Income Fund shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Horizon Technology Finance shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Nuveen Municipal Income Fund and Horizon Technology Finance’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Nuveen Municipal Income Fund	N/A	N/A	N/A
Horizon Technology Finance	-21.19%	17.39%	7.26%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Nuveen Municipal Income Fund and Horizon Technology Finance”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Nuveen Municipal Income Fund	$4.57 million	22.01	N/A	N/A	N/A
Horizon Technology Finance	-$15.38 million	-24.33	-$17.18 million	($0.42)	-25.43

Nuveen Municipal Income Fund has higher revenue and earnings than Horizon Technology Finance.

Dividends

Nuveen Municipal Income Fund pays an annual dividend of $0.42 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. Horizon Technology Finance pays an annual dividend of $1.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 12.4%. Horizon Technology Finance pays out -314.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Volatility and Risk

Nuveen Municipal Income Fund has a beta of 0.24, indicating that its share price is 76% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Horizon Technology Finance has a beta of 1.23, indicating that its share price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Nuveen Municipal Income Fund and Horizon Technology Finance, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Nuveen Municipal Income Fund	0	0	0	0	N/A
Horizon Technology Finance	3	3	0	0	1.50

Horizon Technology Finance has a consensus price target of $9.70, indicating a potential downside of 9.18%. Given Horizon Technology Finance’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Horizon Technology Finance is more favorable than Nuveen Municipal Income Fund.

Summary

Horizon Technology Finance beats Nuveen Municipal Income Fund on 7 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Nuveen Municipal Income Fund

Nuveen Municipal Income Fund, Inc. is a closed ended fixed income mutual fund launched by Nuveen Investments Inc. The fund is co-managed by Nuveen Fund Advisors LLC and Nuveen Asset Management, LLC. It invests in the fixed income markets of the United States. The fund primarily invests in municipal obligations issued by state and local government authorities. Its investment portfolio comprises investment in companies operating in various industries, including healthcare, materials, education and civic organizations, and consumer staples. Nuveen Municipal Income Fund was formed on April 20, 1988 and is based in the United States.

About Horizon Technology Finance

Horizon Technology Finance Corporation is a business development company specializing in lending and and investing in development-stage investments. It focuses on making secured debt and venture lending investments to venture capital backed companies in the technology, life science, healthcare information and services, cleantech and sustainability industries. It seeks to invest in companies in the United States.