Head-To-Head Analysis: X Financial (NYSE:XYF) and Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD)

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

1.1% of X Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.3% of Upbound Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 31.6% of X Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of Upbound Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for X Financial and Upbound Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
X Financial	0	1	0	0	2.00
Upbound Group	0	3	1	0	2.25

Upbound Group has a consensus target price of $27.00, suggesting a potential upside of 6.85%. Given Upbound Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Upbound Group is more favorable than X Financial.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares X Financial and Upbound Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
X Financial	$1.09 billion	0.20	$209.43 million	$1.96	2.82
Upbound Group	$4.70 billion	0.31	$73.24 million	$1.90	13.30

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

Dividends

X Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.54 per share and has a dividend yield of 9.8%. Upbound Group pays an annual dividend of $1.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.2%. X Financial pays out 27.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Upbound Group pays out 82.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Upbound Group has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years. X Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Volatility & Risk

X Financial has a beta of 0.47, indicating that its stock price is 53% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Upbound Group has a beta of 1.8, indicating that its stock price is 80% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
X Financial	9.94%	9.14%	5.20%
Upbound Group	2.36%	33.81%	7.79%

Summary

Upbound Group beats X Financial on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About X Financial

X Financial (NYSE: XYF) is a China-based financial technology company that operates an online consumer finance platform. The company uses digital technologies and data-driven credit assessment to provide access to personal financing products and related financial services. Its primary offerings have included Xiaoying Card, a revolving consumer credit product, and Xiaoying Loan, an installment lending product. X Financial has also operated online wealth-management and investment-related services under the Xiaoying brand, although its business has increasingly focused on consumer lending and loan facilitation.

About Upbound Group

Upbound Group, Inc. provides lease-to-own and retail services through brands including Rent-A-Center and Acima. Its offerings let customers obtain merchandise through flexible payment arrangements, with the option to own items after completing the required payments. The company’s products include furniture, appliances, electronics, computers and smartphones. Rent-A-Center serves customers through company-operated stores and franchise locations, while Acima provides lease-to-own options through participating retail partners and online channels.