Analyzing Regional Management (NYSE:RM) & Oportun Financial (NASDAQ:OPRT)

Oportun Financial (NASDAQ:OPRT) and Regional Management (NYSE:RM) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Oportun Financial and Regional Management, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Oportun Financial	1	2	2	0	2.20
Regional Management	0	2	2	0	2.50

Oportun Financial currently has a consensus price target of $7.33, indicating a potential upside of 0.05%. Regional Management has a consensus price target of $43.00, indicating a potential upside of 28.78%. Given Regional Management’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Regional Management is more favorable than Oportun Financial.

Risk & Volatility

Oportun Financial has a beta of 1.22, indicating that its share price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Regional Management has a beta of 1.02, indicating that its share price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

82.7% of Oportun Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.9% of Regional Management shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.6% of Oportun Financial shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 10.9% of Regional Management shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Oportun Financial and Regional Management”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Oportun Financial	$956.70 million	0.35	$25.25 million	$0.40	18.32
Regional Management	$645.60 million	0.48	$44.41 million	$4.75	7.03

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Oportun Financial	2.05%	13.41%	1.66%
Regional Management	6.98%	12.49%	2.25%

Summary

Regional Management beats Oportun Financial on 9 of the 13 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 Regional Management

Regional Management Corp., a diversified consumer finance company, provides various installment loan products primarily to customers with limited access to consumer credit from banks, thrifts, credit card companies, and other lenders in the United States. It offers small and large installment loans; and retail loans to finance the purchase of furniture, appliances, and other retail products. The company also provides insurance products, including credit life, credit accident and health, credit property, vehicle single interest, and credit involuntary unemployment insurance; collateral protection insurance; and property insurance, as well as reinsurance products. In addition, its loans are sourced through branches, centrally-managed direct mail campaigns, and digital partners, as well as its consumer website. The company was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Greer, South Carolina.