Reviewing PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) and Oportun Financial (NASDAQ:OPRT)

PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) and Oportun Financial (NASDAQ:OPRT) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, earnings and valuation.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
PRA Group	-19.91%	15.56%	3.18%
Oportun Financial	2.05%	13.41%	1.66%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for PRA Group and Oportun Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
PRA Group	1	2	1	1	2.40
Oportun Financial	1	2	2	0	2.20

PRA Group currently has a consensus price target of $26.00, suggesting a potential upside of 26.21%. Oportun Financial has a consensus price target of $7.33, suggesting a potential downside of 4.89%. Given PRA Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe PRA Group is more favorable than Oportun Financial.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

97.2% of PRA Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.7% of Oportun Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 2.2% of PRA Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of Oportun Financial shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares PRA Group and Oportun Financial”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
PRA Group	$1.34 billion	0.58	-$305.14 million	($6.73)	-3.06
Oportun Financial	$956.70 million	0.37	$25.25 million	$0.40	19.27

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

Risk and Volatility

PRA Group has a beta of 1.11, indicating that its stock price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Oportun Financial has a beta of 1.22, indicating that its stock price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

PRA Group beats Oportun Financial on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About PRA Group

PRA Group, Inc., a financial and business services company, engages in the purchase, collection, and management of portfolios of nonperforming loans worldwide. It is involved in the purchase of accounts that are primarily the unpaid obligations of individuals owed to credit originators, which include banks and other types of consumer, retail, and auto finance companies. The company also acquires nonperforming loans, including Visa and MasterCard credit card accounts, private label and other credit card accounts, personal loans, automobile loans, and small business loans from banks, credit unions, consumer finance companies, retailers, utilities, automobile finance companies, and other credit originators. In addition, it provides fee-based services on class action claims recoveries. The company was formerly known as Portfolio Recovery Associates, Inc. and changed its name to PRA Group, Inc. in October 2014. PRA Group, Inc. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia.

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.