LendingClub (NYSE:LC) and Chesswood Group (OTCMKTS:CHWWF) Head to Head Analysis

Chesswood Group (OTCMKTS:CHWWF) and LendingClub (NYSE:LC) are both financial services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Chesswood Group and LendingClub, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Chesswood Group	0	0	0	0	0.00
LendingClub	0	3	6	0	2.67

LendingClub has a consensus price target of $16.5714, suggesting a potential upside of 11.31%. Given LendingClub’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe LendingClub is more favorable than Chesswood Group.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

12.6% of Chesswood Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.1% of LendingClub shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.3% of LendingClub shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Chesswood Group and LendingClub’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Chesswood Group	N/A	N/A	N/A
LendingClub	8.36%	5.66%	0.72%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Chesswood Group and LendingClub”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Chesswood Group	N/A	N/A	N/A	$0.9097	N/A
LendingClub	$787.01 million	2.17	$51.33 million	$0.64	23.26

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

Summary

LendingClub beats Chesswood Group on 10 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Chesswood Group

Chesswood Group Limited operates primarily in the specialty finance industry in North America. The company offers micro and small-ticket commercial equipment financing and origination to small and medium-sized businesses through the third-party broker and equipment vendor channels; and commercial equipment financing and loans to small and medium-sized businesses. It also provides home improvement and other consumer financing solutions; credit alternatives to investors; consumer financing for motor vehicle purchasers; and specialized financing solutions. The company was formerly known as Chesswood Income Fund and changed its name to Chesswood Group Limited in January 2011. Chesswood Group Limited was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

About LendingClub

LendingClub Corporation, operates as a bank holding company, that provides range of financial products and services in the United States. It offers deposit products, including savings accounts, checking accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company also provides loan products, such as consumer loans comprising unsecured personal loans, secured auto refinance loans, and patient and education finance loans; and commercial loans, including small business loans. In addition, it operates an online lending marketplace platform. The company was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.