FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) & Dave (NASDAQ:DAVE) Financial Review

Dave (NASDAQ:DAVE) and FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends, risk, profitability and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Dave and FirstCash’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Dave	28.15%	59.86%	28.08%
FirstCash	9.48%	20.17%	8.52%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Dave and FirstCash, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Dave	0	3	15	1	2.89
FirstCash	0	1	5	0	2.83

Dave presently has a consensus price target of $420.29, indicating a potential upside of 51.71%. FirstCash has a consensus price target of $247.50, indicating a potential upside of 34.00%. Given Dave’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Dave is more favorable than FirstCash.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Dave and FirstCash”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Dave	$554.20 million	6.39	$195.87 million	$12.38	22.38
FirstCash	$3.66 billion	2.16	$330.38 million	$9.23	20.01

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

18.0% of Dave shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 80.3% of FirstCash shares are held by institutional investors. 23.6% of Dave shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.9% of FirstCash shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Dave has a beta of 4.07, indicating that its share price is 307% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, FirstCash has a beta of 0.59, indicating that its share price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Dave beats FirstCash on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Dave

Dave Inc. is a financial technology company that operates a mobile banking and personal finance platform in the United States. Its app is designed to help members manage everyday finances and access financial products through a digital interface. The company’s offerings include ExtraCash, a cash advance product, and Dave Checking, along with budgeting features and tools intended to help users monitor spending and avoid overdrafts. Dave also provides access to job opportunities through its Side Hustle feature.

About FirstCash

FirstCash Holdings, Inc. operates pawn stores that provide short-term, non-recourse loans secured by personal property and sell previously owned merchandise. Its stores also purchase items from customers, including jewelry, electronics, tools and other goods. The company serves customers in the United States and Latin America, including Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Colombia. Its retail operations offer a range of pre-owned goods, with jewelry among its key product categories. FirstCash was formed in 2016 through the merger of First Cash Financial Services and Cash America International.