Based on key financial metrics such as the price-to-sales ratio, shareholder yield and the price-earnings ratio, the following 6 stocks made the list for top value stocks in the Consumer Lending industry. Those looking for value stocks to add to their portfolio may want to use this list as a starting point for further investment research.

Why Focus on Undervalued Consumer Lending Stocks?

Value investors seek to buy stocks at a discount to their intrinsic value. Long-term returns show that such strategies are advantageous. Value stocks, as a group, tend to outperform growth stocks over extended periods of time. Typically, value investors perform financial analysis of numerous metrics, don’t follow the herd and are long-term investors.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade is derived from a stock’s Value Score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

What Goes Into AAII’s Value Grade?

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data as well as the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movement. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors with that task.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A–F grades for more than just value. It is possible for a stock to appear cheap based on one valuation metric but appear expensive on another. It is also possible for one valuation ratio to be associated with outperforming stocks during certain periods of time but not others. Some stocks may even have null values for certain metrics like the price-earnings ratio or the price-to-book ratio but not others. An example of this would be a company with losses instead of profits or a negative book value because of heavy borrowing. Negative earnings or book value result in non-meaningful ratios that are left blank or null.

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6 Undervalued Consumer Lending Stocks

Of course, there are countless value stocks that are worth mentioning, but this is a concise list of the top 6 undervalued stocks in the Consumer Lending industry for Monday, September 30, 2024. Let’s take a closer look at their individual scores to see how they measure up against each other and the Consumer Lending industry median.

The Value Grade is assigned based on how each stock’s composite valuation compares to all other stocks.

The process for assigning grades starts with each variable for a given stock. The percentile rankings for all valid ratios that a stock has are calculated. So, for instance, a stock could have a price-to-book ranking in the 43rd percentile, a price-earnings ranking in the 67th percentile, a price-to-sales ranking in the 23rd percentile, etc. Then, those rankings are averaged for each stock. (A minimum of two valid variables are required, though all six will be used if available.)

Once the average of the individual variables is calculated, that average is ranked against all stocks. Put another way, each stock’s composite valuation is compared to all other stocks. These ranks are then sorted into quintiles from the cheapest 20% (a grade of A) to the most expensive 20% (a grade of F).

As always, we recommend that you conduct proper due diligence and research before investing in any security. We also suggest that investors utilize numerous grades, not just value, when it comes to deciding whether a company is a good fit for their allocation needs.

California First Leasing Corp’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

California First Leasing Corp is a non-diversified closed-end investment company. The Company is engaged in leasing and financing capital assets to businesses and other commercial or non-profit organizations. Its portfolio includes leases and loans, such as commercial leases, education, government and non-profit (EGNP) leases, commercial and industrial loans and commercial real estate loans. It provides commercial finance, UniversityLease, K-12, healthcare and government. Its UniversityLease business focuses on the needs of colleges and universities. It provides services to meet the needs of all types of healthcare organizations, including senior and assisted-living facilities, hospitals and related clinics and others. Its K-12 offers lease financing dedicated to serving the needs of K-12 school districts throughout the United States. It specializes in municipal lease financing for state and local municipalities. It finances all types of equipment used by cities.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

California First Leasing Corp has a Value Score of 90, which is considered to be undervalued.

When you look at California First Leasing Corp’s price-to-sales ratio at 4.13 compared to the industry median at 1.20, this company has a higher price relative to revenue compared to its peers. This could make California First Leasing Corp’s stock less attractive for value investors.

California First Leasing Corp’s price-earnings ratio is 5.96 compared to the industry median at 10.60. This means it has a lower share price relative to earnings compared to its peers. This could make California First Leasing Corp more attractive for value investors.

Now, let’s assess California First Leasing Corp’s EV/EBITDA ratio, also known as enterprise multiple. At 3.4, when compared to the industry median of 11.4, the company may be considered undervalued in relation to its peers. Value investors could use the enterprise multiple to identify stocks that are considered overvalued or undervalued relative to their industry.

Shareholder yield is the sum of a stock’s dividend yield (paid over previous 12 months minus special dividends) and the percentage of net share buybacks over the previous 12 months. California First Leasing Corp’s shareholder yield is higher than its industry median ratio of 2.06%. Value investors may look for an attractive shareholder yield because it can be a powerful tool for identifying if the company has a good management team.

As one of the most common value metrics, the price-to-book ratio evaluates a company’s current market price relative to its book value. California First Leasing Corp’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its industry median ratio of 1.13. This could make California First Leasing Corp more attractive to investors looking for a new addition to their portfolio.

Enova International Inc’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Enova International, Inc. is a technology and analytics company, which is focused on providing online financial services. The Company offers or arranges loans or draws on lines of credit to consumers in 37 states in the United States and Brazil. It also offers financing to small businesses in 49 states and Washington D.C. in the United States. Its customers include small businesses which have bank accounts but use alternative financial services because of their limited access to more traditional credit from banks, credit card companies and other lenders. The Company’s products and services include consumer installment loans; small business installment loans; consumer line of credit accounts; small business line of credit accounts; CSO program, and bank programs. It markets its financing products under the names CashNetUSA at www.cashnetusa.com, NetCredit at www.netcredit.com, OnDeck at www.ondeck.com, Headway Capital at www.headwaycapital.com and Pangea at www.pangeamoneytransfer.com.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

Enova International Inc has a Value Score of 81, which is considered to be undervalued.

Enova International Inc’s price-earnings ratio is 13.8 compared to the industry median at 10.6. This means that it has a higher price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes Enova International Inc less attractive for value investors.

Enova International Inc’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its peers. This could make Enova International Inc more attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 1.13.

You can read more about Enova International Inc’s key financial metrics like shareholder yield, price-to-free-cash-flow and EV/EBITDA ratio, or learn more about its Momentum and Growth Grades, by subscribing to A+ Investor.

Oportun Financial Corp’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Oportun Financial Corporation is a fintech company. Its financial products allow it to meet its members where they are and assist them with their overall financial health. Its products include personal loans, unsecured personal loans, secured personal loans, and Set & Save. Personal loans allow its members to address pressing financial needs as well as planned purchases and personal growth opportunities. Its secured personal loans allow its members to access larger loan sizes than they can with an unsecured loan, which is critical if the financial need they are addressing exceeds its unsecured lending limits for that member. Set & Save is its savings product. Its intelligent lending and savings platform is designed to help people, even those who are not well served by mainstream financial institutions, access credit and automate their savings without impacting their ability to meet daily spending needs. It applies artificial intelligence (AI) to automates people’s financial health.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

Oportun Financial Corp has a Value Score of 92, which is considered to be undervalued.

Oportun Financial Corp’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make Oportun Financial Corp less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 1.13.

You can read more about Oportun Financial Corp’s key financial metrics like shareholder yield, price-to-free-cash-flow and EV/EBITDA ratio, or learn more about its Momentum and Growth Grades, by subscribing to A+ Investor.

CPI Card Group Inc’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

CPI Card Group Inc. is a payments technology company and provider of comprehensive financial payment card solutions in the United States. The Company’s segments include Debit and Credit, Prepaid Debit and Other. The Debit and Credit segment produces financial payment cards and provides integrated card services, including digital services, for card-issuing financial institutions and fintechs primarily in the United States. Products produced by this segment include EMV and non-EMV Financial Payment Cards, including contact and contactless (dual interface) cards and plastic and encased metal cards, and Second Wave payment cards featuring a core made with ROBP, and other private label credit cards that are not issued on the networks of the Payment Cards Brands. The Prepaid Debit segment primarily provides integrated prepaid card services to Prepaid Debit Card providers in the United States, including tamper-evident security packaging. This segment also produces financial payment cards.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

CPI Card Group Inc has a Value Score of 78, which is considered to be undervalued.

CPI Card Group Inc’s price-earnings ratio is 17.8 compared to the industry median at 10.6. This means that it has a higher price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes CPI Card Group Inc less attractive for value investors.

You can read more about CPI Card Group Inc’s key financial metrics like shareholder yield, price-to-free-cash-flow and EV/EBITDA ratio, or learn more about its Momentum and Growth Grades, by subscribing to A+ Investor.

Synchrony Financial’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Synchrony Financial is a consumer financial services company focused on delivering digitally enabled product suites. The Company provides a range of credit products through financing programs it has established with a diverse group of national and regional retailers, local merchants, manufacturers, buying groups, industry associations and healthcare service providers. The Company primarily offers private label, dual card, co-brand, and general-purpose credit cards, as well as short- and long-term installment loans, and savings products through Synchrony Bank (the Bank). It primarily manages its credit products through five sales platforms (Home & Auto, Digital, Diversified & Value, Health & Wellness and Lifestyle). The Bank offers directly to retail, affinity relationships and commercial customers, a range of deposit products, including certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), money market accounts, savings accounts and sweep and affinity deposits.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

Synchrony Financial has a Value Score of 97, which is considered to be undervalued.

Synchrony Financial’s price-earnings ratio is 6.9 compared to the industry median at 10.6. This means that it has a lower price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes Synchrony Financial more attractive for value investors.

Synchrony Financial’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its peers. This could make Synchrony Financial more attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 1.13.

You can read more about Synchrony Financial’s key financial metrics like shareholder yield, price-to-free-cash-flow and EV/EBITDA ratio, or learn more about its Momentum and Growth Grades, by subscribing to A+ Investor.

World Acceptance Corp.’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

World Acceptance Corporation is a people-focused finance company that provides personal instalment loan solutions and personal tax preparation and filing services. The Company generally serves individuals with limited access to other sources of consumer credit such as banks, credit unions, other consumer finance businesses and credit card lenders. The Company, as an agent for an unaffiliated insurance company, markets and sells credit life, credit accident and health, credit property and auto, unemployment, and accidental death and dismemberment insurance in connection with its loans in selected states where the sale of such insurance is permitted by law. It offers automobile club memberships to its borrowers in Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, South Carolina, Utah and Wisconsin, as an agent for an unaffiliated automobile club. The Company operates more than 1,000 community-based branches across 16 states.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

World Acceptance Corp. has a Value Score of 87, which is considered to be undervalued.

World Acceptance Corp.’s price-earnings ratio is 8.5 compared to the industry median at 10.6. This means that it has a lower price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes World Acceptance Corp. more attractive for value investors.

World Acceptance Corp.’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its peers. This could make World Acceptance Corp. more attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 1.13.

You can read more about World Acceptance Corp.’s key financial metrics like shareholder yield, price-to-free-cash-flow and EV/EBITDA ratio, or learn more about its Momentum and Growth Grades, by subscribing to A+ Investor.

Other Consumer Lending Stock Grades

Value is just one of the five Stock Grades included in our A+ Investor service. AAII members can see the top-graded stocks—those with grades of A or B for value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality—on the A+ Stock Grades Screener.

Also, if you want full access to all of AAII’s premium services, you can subscribe to one convenient bundled plan called AAII Platinum where you can try out A+ Investor, AAII Dividend Investing, the Stock Superstars Report, Growth Investing and VMQ Stocks. With the other premium services, you can dive deep into additional metrics, portfolios, commentary and information about Consumer Lending stocks as well as other industrys.

Choosing Which of the 6 Best Consumer Lending Stocks Is Right for You

Choosing which value stocks to invest in will ultimately depend on your individual goals and allocation; however, comparing similar value stocks in the same industry can help you analyze which might be better investments for you in the long run. So, let’s take a look at the Value Grade for all of our stocks.

• California First Leasing Corp stock has a Value Grade of A.
• Enova International Inc stock has a Value Grade of A.
• Oportun Financial Corp stock has a Value Grade of A.
• CPI Card Group Inc stock has a Value Grade of B.
• Synchrony Financial stock has a Value Grade of A.
• World Acceptance Corp. stock has a Value Grade of A.

Now that you have a bit more background about each of the 6 undervalued stocks in the Consumer Lending industry as well as their overall grades, it’s time for you to conduct additional research to see if these could fit your portfolio needs based on your goals and risk tolerance. AAII can help you figure out both and identify which investments align with what works best for you.

We do so through a program of education that teaches you to invest for yourself and become an effective manager of your own wealth—no more relying on others for your financial independence. You can rely on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis that makes you a better investor.

A+ Investor adds to that qualitative teaching by giving you a powerful data suite that helps you whittle down investment decisions to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

Additional Resources About Consumer Lending Stocks

Want to learn more about Consumer Lending stocks to see if they could be the right investment for you? Check out some additional resources and articles to help you on your financial journey.

• 6 Undervalued Consumer Lending Stocks for Monday, September 30
• Is Yiren Digital Ltd - ADR (YRD) a Good Dividend Stock?
• 5 Undervalued Consumer Lending Stocks for Friday, September 27
• 4 Undervalued Consumer Lending Stocks for Thursday, September 26

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.