Capital One Financial (NYSE:COF) versus World Acceptance (NASDAQ:WRLD) Head-To-Head Review

Capital One Financial (NYSE:COF) and World Acceptance (NASDAQ:WRLD) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Volatility and Risk

Capital One Financial has a beta of 1.18, meaning that its share price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, World Acceptance has a beta of 1.35, meaning that its share price is 35% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

89.8% of Capital One Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.6% of World Acceptance shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.3% of Capital One Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 41.6% of World Acceptance shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Capital One Financial and World Acceptance, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Capital One Financial	0	6	14	3	2.87
World Acceptance	0	2	1	0	2.33

Capital One Financial currently has a consensus target price of $252.78, suggesting a potential upside of 19.66%. World Acceptance has a consensus target price of $10.00, suggesting a potential downside of 94.24%. Given Capital One Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Capital One Financial is more favorable than World Acceptance.

Profitability

This table compares Capital One Financial and World Acceptance’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Capital One Financial	N/A	10.01%	1.40%
World Acceptance	14.29%	18.95%	7.74%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Capital One Financial and World Acceptance”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Capital One Financial	$42.75 billion	3.16	$4.75 billion	$1.95	108.33
World Acceptance	$564.84 million	1.67	$89.74 million	$14.82	11.71

Capital One Financial has higher revenue and earnings than World Acceptance. World Acceptance is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Capital One Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Capital One Financial beats World Acceptance on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Capital One Financial

Capital One Financial Corporation operates as the financial services holding company for the Capital One, National Association, which engages in the provision of various financial products and services in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. It operates through three segments: Credit Card, Consumer Banking, and Commercial Banking. The company accepts checking accounts, money market deposits, negotiable order of withdrawals, savings deposits, and time deposits. Its loan products include credit card loans; auto and retail banking loans; and commercial and multifamily real estate, and commercial and industrial loans. The company also offers credit and debit card products; online direct banking services; and provides advisory, capital markets, treasury management, and depository services. It serves consumers, small businesses, and commercial clients through digital channels, branches, cafés, and other distribution channels located in New York, Louisiana, Texas, Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey, and California. The company was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in McLean, Virginia.

About World Acceptance

World Acceptance Corporation engages in consumer finance business in the United States. The company provides short-term small installment loans, medium-term larger installment loans, related credit insurance, and ancillary products and services to individuals. It offers income tax return preparation and filing services; and automobile club memberships. It serves individuals with limited access to other sources of consumer credit, such as banks, credit unions, other consumer finance businesses, and credit card lenders. World Acceptance Corporation was founded in 1962 and is headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina.