Critical Review: Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) and Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD)

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) and Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, profitability, risk and dividends.

Volatility and Risk

Upbound Group has a beta of 1.77, indicating that its share price is 77% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Atlanticus has a beta of 2.02, indicating that its share price is 102% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Upbound Group and Atlanticus’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Upbound Group	1.90%	34.53%	7.69%
Atlanticus	5.80%	25.17%	2.15%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Upbound Group and Atlanticus”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Upbound Group	$4.74 billion	0.23	$73.24 million	$1.54	12.09
Atlanticus	$1.97 billion	0.75	$122.20 million	$7.69	12.62

Atlanticus has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Upbound Group. Upbound Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Atlanticus, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Upbound Group and Atlanticus, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Upbound Group	1	2	2	0	2.20
Atlanticus	0	2	6	1	2.89

Upbound Group currently has a consensus price target of $30.67, suggesting a potential upside of 64.70%. Atlanticus has a consensus price target of $126.00, suggesting a potential upside of 29.80%. Given Upbound Group’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Upbound Group is more favorable than Atlanticus.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

90.3% of Upbound Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 14.2% of Atlanticus shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of Upbound Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 51.0% of Atlanticus shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Atlanticus beats Upbound Group on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Upbound Group

Upbound Group, Inc. leases household durable goods to customers on a lease-to-own basis in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. It operates through four segments: Rent-A-Center, Acima, Mexico, and Franchising. The company's brands, such as Rent-A-Center and Acima that facilitate consumer transactions across a range of store-based and virtual channels. It offers furniture comprising mattresses, tires, consumer electronics, appliances, tools, handbags, computers, smartphones, and accessories. It also provides merchandise on an installment sales basis; and the lease-to-own transaction to consumers who do not qualify for traditional financing, the lease to-own transaction through staffed or unstaffed kiosks located in third-party retailer's locations, and other virtual options. It operates retail installment sales stores under the Get It Now and Home Choice names; lease-to-own and franchised lease-to-own stores under the Rent-A-Centre, ColorTyme, and RimTyme names; and company-owned stores and e-commerce platform through rentacenter.com. The company was formerly known as Rent-A-Center, Inc. and changed its name to Upbound Group, Inc. in February 2023. Upbound Group, Inc. was founded in 1960 and is based in Plano, Texas.

About Atlanticus

Atlanticus Holdings Corporation, a financial technology company, provides credit and related financial services and products to customers the United States. It operates in two segments, Credit as a Service, and Auto Finance. The Credit as a Service segment originates a range of consumer loan products, such as private label and general purpose credit cards originated by lenders through various channels, including retail and healthcare, direct mail solicitation, digital marketing, and partnerships with third parties; and offers credit to their customers for the purchase of various goods and services, including consumer electronics, furniture, elective medical procedures, healthcare, and home-improvements by partnering with retailers, healthcare providers, and other service providers. This segment also offers loan servicing, such as risk management and customer service outsourcing for third parties; and engages in testing and investment activities in consumer finance technology platforms. The Auto Finance segment purchases and/or services loans secured by automobiles from or for a pre-qualified network of independent automotive dealers and automotive finance companies in the buy-here, pay-here, and used car business. This segment also provides floor plan financing and installment lending products. It also invests in and services portfolios of credit card receivables. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.