Reviewing i3 Verticals (NASDAQ:IIIV) and The OLB Group (NASDAQ:OLB)

The OLB Group (NASDAQ:OLB) and i3 Verticals (NASDAQ:IIIV) are both small-cap retail/wholesale companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk and institutional ownership.

Risk & Volatility

The OLB Group has a beta of 2.38, meaning that its share price is 138% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, i3 Verticals has a beta of 1.53, meaning that its share price is 53% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares The OLB Group and i3 Verticals”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
The OLB Group	$30.57 million	0.12	-$23.18 million	($5.65)	-0.30
i3 Verticals	$229.92 million	3.50	$113.34 million	$4.45	5.35

i3 Verticals has higher revenue and earnings than The OLB Group. The OLB Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than i3 Verticals, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for The OLB Group and i3 Verticals, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
The OLB Group	0	0	0	0	0.00
i3 Verticals	0	2	4	1	2.86

i3 Verticals has a consensus price target of $27.14, indicating a potential upside of 14.09%. Given i3 Verticals’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe i3 Verticals is more favorable than The OLB Group.

Profitability

This table compares The OLB Group and i3 Verticals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
The OLB Group	-155.02%	-258.34%	-140.87%
i3 Verticals	37.35%	4.37%	1.73%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

3.8% of The OLB Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 84.2% of i3 Verticals shares are held by institutional investors. 36.1% of The OLB Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 34.0% of i3 Verticals shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

i3 Verticals beats The OLB Group on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About i3 Verticals

i3 Verticals, Inc. provides integrated payment and software solutions primarily to the public sector and healthcare markets in the United States. It operates in two segments, Software and Services, and Merchant Services. The company offers payment processing services that enables upper and lower court case management, collections, finance and accounting, motor vehicle and carrier registration, e-filing and taxation, license plate inventory, property tax management, utility billing, professional licensing, document workflow, and law enforcement software; assists public schools in completing payment processing functions, including accepting payments for online or at school lunches, and school activities. It also provides software platforms, such as electronic healthcare records and revenue cycle management solutions; insurance adjudication, patient engagement platforms, billing, scheduling, and integrated payments solutions; and workflow software and associated professional services to medical insurance payers. In addition, the company engages in software licenses and subscriptions, transaction-based fees, ongoing software maintenance and support, and other software-related solutions; and payment processing and gateway fees, as well as other related fixed transaction or service fees. Further, it sells equipment, and offers non-software related professional services. The company offers its solutions to clients through direct sales force; distribution partners comprising independent software vendors, independent sales organizations, and value-added resellers. i3 Verticals, Inc. was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee.