Critical Survey: Regional Management (NYSE:RM) vs. Oportun Financial (NASDAQ:OPRT)

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

Profitability

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

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Regional Management and Oportun Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.

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

Regional Management currently has a consensus target price of $43.00, indicating a potential upside of 28.19%. Oportun Financial has a consensus target price of $7.33, indicating a potential downside of 2.35%. Given Regional Management’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Regional Management is more favorable than Oportun Financial.

Earnings and Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Regional Management	$645.60 million	0.48	$44.41 million	$4.75	7.06
Oportun Financial	$956.70 million	0.36	$25.25 million	$0.40	18.77

Regional Management has higher earnings, but lower revenue 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.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

98.9% of Regional Management shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.7% of Oportun Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 10.9% of Regional Management 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.

Volatility & Risk

Regional Management has a beta of 1.02, indicating that its share price is 2% 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

Regional Management beats Oportun Financial on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

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.