Financial Analysis: Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) vs. Oportun Financial (NASDAQ:OPRT)

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

90.3% of Upbound Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.7% of Oportun Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of Upbound Group shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of Oportun Financial shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Upbound Group and Oportun Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Upbound Group	2.36%	33.81%	7.79%
Oportun Financial	3.88%	14.99%	1.87%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Upbound Group and Oportun Financial”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Upbound Group	$4.70 billion	0.30	$73.24 million	$1.90	12.71
Oportun Financial	$956.70 million	0.63	$25.25 million	$0.40	32.52

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

Volatility & Risk

Upbound Group has a beta of 1.8, indicating that its share price is 80% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Oportun Financial has a beta of 1.29, indicating that its share price is 29% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Upbound Group and Oportun Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Upbound Group	0	3	1	0	2.25
Oportun Financial	0	3	2	0	2.40

Upbound Group presently has a consensus price target of $27.00, indicating a potential upside of 11.85%. Oportun Financial has a consensus price target of $9.25, indicating a potential downside of 28.90%. Given Upbound Group’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Upbound Group is more favorable than Oportun Financial.

Summary

Upbound Group beats Oportun Financial on 8 of the 14 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 Oportun Financial

Oportun Financial Corporation provides financial services. The company offers personal loans and credit cards. It serves customers through online and over the phone, as well as through retail and Lending as a Service partner locations. The company was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in San Carlos, California.