Comparing Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) and Oportun Financial (NASDAQ:OPRT)

Oportun Financial (NASDAQ:OPRT) and Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership and earnings.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Oportun Financial	3.88%	14.67%	1.87%
Synchrony Financial	14.59%	22.26%	2.79%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

82.7% of Oportun Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.5% of Synchrony Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.6% of Oportun Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Synchrony Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Oportun Financial and Synchrony Financial”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Oportun Financial	$417.50 million	1.25	$25.25 million	$0.74	15.28
Synchrony Financial	$22.60 billion	1.02	$3.55 billion	$9.58	7.71

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Oportun Financial and Synchrony Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Oportun Financial	0	3	2	0	2.40
Synchrony Financial	0	9	10	0	2.53

Oportun Financial presently has a consensus price target of $9.25, indicating a potential downside of 18.21%. Synchrony Financial has a consensus price target of $87.78, indicating a potential upside of 18.92%. Given Synchrony Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Synchrony Financial is more favorable than Oportun Financial.

Volatility and Risk

Oportun Financial has a beta of 1.29, suggesting that its share price is 29% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Synchrony Financial has a beta of 1.4, suggesting that its share price is 40% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Synchrony Financial beats Oportun Financial on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Synchrony Financial

Synchrony Financial, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a consumer financial services company in the United States. It provides credit products, such as credit cards, commercial credit products, and consumer installment loans. The company also offers private label credit cards, dual co-brand and general purpose credit cards, short- and long-term installment loans, and consumer banking products; and deposit products, including certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, money market accounts, and savings accounts, and sweep and affinity deposits, as well as accepts deposits through third-party securities brokerage firms. In addition, it provides debt cancellation products to its credit card customers through online, mobile, and direct mail; and healthcare payments and financing solutions under the CareCredit and Walgreens brands; payments and financing solutions in the apparel, specialty retail, outdoor, music, and luxury industries, such as American Eagle, Dick's Sporting Goods, Guitar Center, Kawasaki, Pandora, Polaris, Suzuki, and Sweetwater. The company offers its credit products through programs established with a group of national and regional retailers, local merchants, manufacturers, buying groups, industry associations, and healthcare service providers; and deposit products through various channels, such as digital and print. It serves digital, health and wellness, retail, home, auto, telecommunications, jewelry, pets, and other industries. The company was founded in 1932 and is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut.