Comparing LexinFintech (NASDAQ:LX) and LendingClub (NYSE:LC)

LendingClub (NYSE:LC) and LexinFintech (NASDAQ:LX) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability and risk.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares LendingClub and LexinFintech”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) 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
LexinFintech	$1.88 billion	0.06	$239.82 million	$0.84	0.85

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for LendingClub and LexinFintech, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
LendingClub	0	2	6	1	2.89
LexinFintech	1	2	0	0	1.67

LendingClub presently has a consensus price target of $23.07, suggesting a potential upside of 20.10%. LexinFintech has a consensus price target of $2.35, suggesting a potential upside of 228.90%. Given LexinFintech’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe LexinFintech is more favorable than LendingClub.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

74.1% of LendingClub shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.2% of LendingClub shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 27.8% of LexinFintech shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

LendingClub has a beta of 1.98, meaning that its stock price is 98% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, LexinFintech has a beta of 0.86, meaning that its stock price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares LendingClub and LexinFintech’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
LendingClub	16.99%	11.92%	1.55%
LexinFintech	7.94%	8.59%	4.50%

Summary

LendingClub beats LexinFintech on 10 of the 15 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 LexinFintech

LexinFintech Holdings Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides online consumer finance services in the People's Republic of China. The company operates Fenqile.com, an online consumption and consumer finance platform that offers installment purchase and personal installment loans, as well as online direct sales with installment payment terms; and Le Hua Card, a scenario-based lending. It also provides technology-driven platform services for financial institution customers and partners to increase revenues, manage financial risks, enhance operating efficiency and service quality, enhance collections, and reduce overall costs; Maiya application, a location-based services shopping experience with buy-now and pay-later options; and Juzi Licai, an online investment platform. In addition, the company offers technical support and consulting, software development, financing guarantee, and financial technology services. The company was formerly known as Staging Finance Holding Ltd. and changed its name to LexinFintech Holdings Ltd. in March 2017. LexinFintech Holdings Ltd. was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Shenzhen, the People's Republic of China.