Critical Contrast: Vanquis Banking Group (OTCMKTS:FPLPF) and Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC)

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) and Vanquis Banking Group (OTCMKTS:FPLPF) are both financial services companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk and institutional ownership.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Atlanticus and Vanquis Banking Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Atlanticus	0	1	2	0	2.67
Vanquis Banking Group	0	0	0	0	N/A

Atlanticus currently has a consensus target price of $41.00, indicating a potential upside of 11.23%. Given Atlanticus’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Atlanticus is more favorable than Vanquis Banking Group.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Atlanticus and Vanquis Banking Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Atlanticus	$262.48 million	2.08	$102.85 million	$4.24	8.69
Vanquis Banking Group	N/A	N/A	N/A	$1.12	0.61

Atlanticus has higher revenue and earnings than Vanquis Banking Group. Vanquis Banking Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Atlanticus, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Atlanticus and Vanquis Banking Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Atlanticus	8.42%	25.32%	3.73%
Vanquis Banking Group	N/A	N/A	N/A

Institutional & Insider Ownership

14.1% of Atlanticus shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 58.3% of Vanquis Banking Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 51.8% of Atlanticus shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Atlanticus beats Vanquis Banking Group on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Atlanticus

Atlanticus Holdings Corporation, a financial technology company, provides credit and related financial services and products to customers the United States. It operates in two segments, Credit as a Service, and Auto Finance. The Credit as a Service segment originates a range of consumer loan products, such as private label and general purpose credit cards originated by lenders through various channels, including retail and healthcare, direct mail solicitation, digital marketing, and partnerships with third parties; and offers credit to their customers for the purchase of various goods and services, including consumer electronics, furniture, elective medical procedures, healthcare, and home-improvements by partnering with retailers, healthcare providers, and other service providers. This segment also offers loan servicing, such as risk management and customer service outsourcing for third parties; and engages in testing and investment activities in consumer finance technology platforms. The Auto Finance segment purchases and/or services loans secured by automobiles from or for a pre-qualified network of independent automotive dealers and automotive finance companies in the buy-here, pay-here, and used car business. This segment also provides floor plan financing and installment lending products. It also invests in and services portfolios of credit card receivables. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

About Vanquis Banking Group

Vanquis Banking Group plc engages in the provision of personal credit products to the non-standard lending market in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. The company offers credit cards products, and unsecured personal loans products, as well as provides vehicle finance for cars, motorbikes, van, and light commercial vehicles. It also operates Snoop, a fintech app, that uses open banking to help users save money and manage their finances. The company was formerly known as Provident Financial plc and changed its name to Vanquis Banking Group plc in March 2023. Vanquis Banking Group plc was founded in 1880 and is headquartered in Bradford, the United Kingdom.