loanDepot (NYSE:LDI – Get Free Report) and Flywire (NASDAQ:FLYW – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends and earnings.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current ratings for loanDepot and Flywire, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| loanDepot | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.50 |
| Flywire | 0 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 2.53 |
loanDepot presently has a consensus target price of $1.38, suggesting a potential upside of 177.22%. Flywire has a consensus target price of $20.23, suggesting a potential upside of 12.02%. Given loanDepot’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe loanDepot is more favorable than Flywire.
Earnings & Valuation
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| loanDepot | $1.19 billion | 0.14 | -$62.65 million | ($0.30) | -1.65 |
| Flywire | $623.03 million | 3.53 | $13.50 million | $0.26 | 69.46 |
Flywire has lower revenue, but higher earnings than loanDepot. loanDepot is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Flywire, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares loanDepot and Flywire’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| loanDepot | -5.52% | -28.25% | -1.56% |
| Flywire | 4.77% | 4.08% | 2.81% |
Volatility and Risk
loanDepot has a beta of 3.45, meaning that its share price is 245% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Flywire has a beta of 1.35, meaning that its share price is 35% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
39.4% of loanDepot shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.9% of Flywire shares are owned by institutional investors. 65.9% of loanDepot shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.0% of Flywire shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Summary
Flywire beats loanDepot on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About loanDepot
loanDepot, Inc. engages in originating, financing, selling, and servicing residential mortgage loans in the United States. The company offers conventional agency-conforming and prime jumbo, federal assistance residential mortgage, and home equity loans. It also provides settlement services, which include captive title and escrow business; real estate services that cover captive real estate referral business; and insurance services, including services to homeowners, as well as other consumer insurance policies. The company was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Irvine, California.
About Flywire
Flywire Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a payments enablement and software company in the United States and internationally. Its payment platform and network, and vertical-specific software help clients to get paid and help their customers to pay. The company’s platform facilitates payment flows across multiple currencies, payment types, and payment options, as well as provides direct connections to alternative payment methods, such as Alipay, Boleto, PayPal/Venmo, and Trustly. It serves education, healthcare, travel, and business to business organizations. The company was formerly known as peerTransfer Corporation and changed its name to Flywire Corporation in December 2016. Flywire Corporation was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.
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