Comparing Capital One Financial (NYSE:COF) & World Acceptance (NASDAQ:WRLD)

World Acceptance (NASDAQ:WRLD) and Capital One Financial (NYSE:COF) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation and risk.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for World Acceptance and Capital One Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
World Acceptance	0	2	1	0	2.33
Capital One Financial	0	6	14	3	2.87

World Acceptance presently has a consensus price target of $10.00, suggesting a potential downside of 94.42%. Capital One Financial has a consensus price target of $252.78, suggesting a potential upside of 18.08%. Given Capital One Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Capital One Financial is more favorable than World Acceptance.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

83.6% of World Acceptance shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.8% of Capital One Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 41.6% of World Acceptance shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.3% of Capital One Financial shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

World Acceptance has a beta of 1.35, suggesting that its stock price is 35% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Capital One Financial has a beta of 1.18, suggesting that its stock price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares World Acceptance and Capital One Financial”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
World Acceptance	$564.84 million	1.73	$89.74 million	$14.82	12.10
Capital One Financial	$53.94 billion	2.54	$4.75 billion	$1.95	109.78

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

Profitability

This table compares World Acceptance and Capital One Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
World Acceptance	14.29%	18.95%	7.74%
Capital One Financial	N/A	10.01%	1.40%

Summary

Capital One Financial beats World Acceptance on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About World Acceptance

World Acceptance Corporation engages in consumer finance business in the United States. The company provides short-term small installment loans, medium-term larger installment loans, related credit insurance, and ancillary products and services to individuals. It offers income tax return preparation and filing services; and automobile club memberships. It serves individuals with limited access to other sources of consumer credit, such as banks, credit unions, other consumer finance businesses, and credit card lenders. World Acceptance Corporation was founded in 1962 and is headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina.

About Capital One Financial

Capital One Financial Corporation operates as the financial services holding company for the Capital One, National Association, which engages in the provision of various financial products and services in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. It operates through three segments: Credit Card, Consumer Banking, and Commercial Banking. The company accepts checking accounts, money market deposits, negotiable order of withdrawals, savings deposits, and time deposits. Its loan products include credit card loans; auto and retail banking loans; and commercial and multifamily real estate, and commercial and industrial loans. The company also offers credit and debit card products; online direct banking services; and provides advisory, capital markets, treasury management, and depository services. It serves consumers, small businesses, and commercial clients through digital channels, branches, cafés, and other distribution channels located in New York, Louisiana, Texas, Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey, and California. The company was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in McLean, Virginia.