Financial Analysis: Oportun Financial (NASDAQ:OPRT) versus PROG (NYSE:PRG)

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
PROG	5.57%	21.88%	9.15%
Oportun Financial	2.05%	13.41%	1.66%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for PROG and Oportun Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
PROG	0	3	6	1	2.80
Oportun Financial	1	2	2	0	2.20

PROG presently has a consensus price target of $49.44, suggesting a potential upside of 18.60%. Oportun Financial has a consensus price target of $7.33, suggesting a potential downside of 5.67%. Given PROG’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe PROG is more favorable than Oportun Financial.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

97.9% of PROG shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.7% of Oportun Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 3.7% of PROG 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 hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares PROG 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
PROG	$2.41 billion	0.69	$146.79 million	$3.62	11.52
Oportun Financial	$956.70 million	0.37	$25.25 million	$0.40	19.43

PROG has higher revenue and earnings than Oportun Financial. PROG 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 & Volatility

PROG has a beta of 1.79, indicating that its share price is 79% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Oportun Financial has a beta of 1.22, indicating that its share price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

PROG beats Oportun Financial on 14 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About PROG

PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG) is a financial technology holding company based in Salt Lake City, Utah with three business segments: Progressive Leasing, which offers lease-to-own transactions primarily to credit-challenged consumers through e-commerce and point-of-sale retail partners, via online, mobile, and in-store solutions; Vive Financial, which provides consumers who may not qualify for traditional prime lending with a variety of second-look, revolving credit products through private label and branded credit cards; and Four Technologies, which provides consumers of all credit backgrounds Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) options through four interest-free installments via its platform, Four.

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.