PROG (NYSE:PRG) vs. Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) Critical Comparison

PROG (NYSE:PRG) and Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, risk, dividends and earnings.

Risk and Volatility

PROG has a beta of 1.79, indicating that its share price is 79% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Upstart has a beta of 2.29, indicating that its share price is 129% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares PROG and Upstart”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
PROG	$2.41 billion	0.70	$146.79 million	$3.62	11.74
Upstart	$1.04 billion	2.76	$53.60 million	$0.49	60.50

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

97.9% of PROG shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 63.0% of Upstart shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.7% of PROG shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 17.3% of Upstart shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares PROG and Upstart’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%
Upstart	4.84%	7.13%	1.82%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for PROG and Upstart, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
PROG	0	3	6	1	2.80
Upstart	2	6	8	0	2.38

PROG currently has a consensus target price of $49.44, suggesting a potential upside of 16.35%. Upstart has a consensus target price of $44.40, suggesting a potential upside of 49.77%. Given Upstart’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Upstart is more favorable than PROG.

Summary

PROG beats Upstart on 9 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 Upstart

Upstart Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates a cloud-based artificial intelligence (AI) lending platform in the United States. Its platform includes personal loans, automotive retail and refinance loans, home equity lines of credit, and small dollar loans that connects consumer demand for loans to its to bank and credit unions. Upstart Holdings, Inc. was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in San Mateo, California.