Critical Contrast: Orion Digital (NASDAQ:ORIO) vs. First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) and Orion Digital (NASDAQ:ORIO) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership and dividends.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares First Citizens BancShares and Orion Digital”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Citizens BancShares	$14.51 billion	1.64	$2.21 billion	$187.04	11.29
Orion Digital	$49.11 million	0.51	-$6.11 million	($0.50)	-2.08

First Citizens BancShares has higher revenue and earnings than Orion Digital. Orion Digital is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Citizens BancShares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for First Citizens BancShares and Orion Digital, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Citizens BancShares	0	11	2	1	2.29
Orion Digital	1	1	0	0	1.50

First Citizens BancShares presently has a consensus price target of $2,272.54, indicating a potential upside of 7.61%. Given First Citizens BancShares’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe First Citizens BancShares is more favorable than Orion Digital.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

78.0% of First Citizens BancShares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 14.8% of Orion Digital shares are owned by institutional investors. 14.6% of First Citizens BancShares shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 12.3% of Orion Digital shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares First Citizens BancShares and Orion Digital’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Citizens BancShares	16.28%	12.07%	1.06%
Orion Digital	-24.49%	-6.17%	-2.56%

Volatility and Risk

First Citizens BancShares has a beta of 0.6, meaning that its share price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Orion Digital has a beta of 2.55, meaning that its share price is 155% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

First Citizens BancShares beats Orion Digital on 14 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Citizens BancShares

First Citizens BancShares, Inc. operates as the holding company for First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company that provides retail and commercial banking services to individuals, businesses, and professionals. The company's deposit products include checking, savings, money market, and time deposit accounts. Its loan product portfolio comprises commercial construction and mortgage; and commercial and industrial leases, as well as small business administration loans. In addition, the company offers consumer loans, such as residential and revolving mortgage, consumer auto, and other consumer loans. Further, it provides wealth management services, including annuities, brokerage services, and third-party mutual funds, as well as investment management and advisory services. The company provides its products and services through its branch network. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. was founded in 1898 and is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina.

About Orion Digital

Mogo Inc. operates as a financial technology company in Canada and internationally. The company provides digital solutions to the consumers to get in control of their financial health. It offers Mogo app to access a digital spending account with Mogo Visa Platinum Prepaid Card; MogoCrypto that enables the buying and selling of bitcoin; MogoProtect, a free ID fraud protection and monthly credit score monitoring; MogoMortgage, a digital mortgage experience; and MogoMoney that provides access to personal loans. The company also offers Mogo Trade, a free stock trading platform with real-time stock quotes and funding; and Mogo Ventures to manage its existing investments in strategic partners and companies. In addition, it operates Carta, a digital payments software platform that enable financial technology companies, banks, and corporations to issue payment products to consumers via multiple channels, including physical, virtual, and tokenized cards, as well as payment switching and routing services. Mogo Inc. was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.