Critical Review: Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLCP) versus Oportun Financial (NASDAQ:OPRT)

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLCP) and Oportun Financial (NASDAQ:OPRT) are both financial services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability, risk, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Atlanticus and Oportun Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Atlanticus	0	0	0	0	N/A
Oportun Financial	0	2	4	0	2.67

Oportun Financial has a consensus price target of $7.25, suggesting a potential downside of 3.07%. Given Oportun Financial’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Oportun Financial is more favorable than Atlanticus.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Atlanticus	N/A	N/A	N/A
Oportun Financial	-22.27%	-18.22%	-2.59%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Atlanticus and Oportun Financial’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Atlanticus	$254.58 million	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Oportun Financial	$413.86 million	0.62	-$77.74 million	($6.87)	-1.09

Atlanticus has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Oportun Financial.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

73.7% of Oportun Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 10.2% of Oportun Financial shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Oportun Financial beats Atlanticus on 5 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Atlanticus

Atlanticus Holdings Corporation 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 and 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.

About Oportun Financial

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