LendingClub (NYSE:LC – Get Free Report) and American Express (NYSE:AXP – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends, earnings, valuation and risk.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for LendingClub and American Express, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| LendingClub | 0 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 2.89 |
| American Express | 1 | 10 | 12 | 1 | 2.54 |
LendingClub currently has a consensus price target of $23.07, indicating a potential upside of 20.10%. American Express has a consensus price target of $373.32, indicating a potential upside of 11.06%. Given LendingClub’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe LendingClub is more favorable than American Express.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares LendingClub and American Express”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| LendingClub | $1.03 billion | 2.14 | $135.68 million | $1.49 | 12.89 |
| American Express | $72.23 billion | 3.14 | $10.83 billion | $16.48 | 20.40 |
American Express has higher revenue and earnings than LendingClub. LendingClub is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than American Express, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares LendingClub and American Express’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| LendingClub | 16.99% | 11.92% | 1.55% |
| American Express | 15.07% | 34.12% | 3.77% |
Risk & Volatility
LendingClub has a beta of 1.98, suggesting that its share price is 98% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, American Express has a beta of 1.04, suggesting that its share price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
American Express beats LendingClub on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About LendingClub
LendingClub Corporation, operates as a bank holding company, that provides range of financial products and services in the United States. It offers deposit products, including savings accounts, checking accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company also provides loan products, such as consumer loans comprising unsecured personal loans, secured auto refinance loans, and patient and education finance loans; and commercial loans, including small business loans. In addition, it operates an online lending marketplace platform. The company was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
About American Express
American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as integrated payments company in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Canada, the Caribbean, and Internationally. It operates through four segments: U.S. Consumer Services, Commercial Services, International Card Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services. The company’s products and services include credit card, charge card, banking, and other payment and financing products; network services; expense management products and services; and travel and lifestyle services. It also provides merchant acquisition and processing, servicing and settlement, point-of-sale marketing, and information products and services for merchants; and fraud prevention services, as well as the design and operation of customer loyalty programs. In addition, the company operates lounges at airports under Centurion Lounge brand name. It sells its products and services to consumers, small businesses, mid-sized companies, and large corporations through mobile and online applications, affiliate marketing, customer referral programs, third-party service providers and business partners, direct mail, telephone, in-house sales teams, and direct response advertising. American Express Company was founded in 1850 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
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