Reviewing Dave (NASDAQ:DAVE) & FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS)

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
FirstCash	9.42%	19.65%	8.38%
Dave	34.58%	77.46%	40.44%

Valuation & Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
FirstCash	$3.66 billion	2.46	$330.38 million	$8.76	23.69
Dave	$554.20 million	7.07	$195.87 million	$15.42	20.00

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

80.3% of FirstCash shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 18.0% of Dave shares are held by institutional investors. 2.9% of FirstCash shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 23.6% of Dave shares are held by 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.

Risk and Volatility

FirstCash has a beta of 0.53, meaning that its share price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Dave has a beta of 3.83, meaning that its share price is 283% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for FirstCash and Dave, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
FirstCash	0	1	4	1	3.00
Dave	0	2	11	1	2.93

FirstCash currently has a consensus target price of $249.00, indicating a potential upside of 19.98%. Dave has a consensus target price of $412.90, indicating a potential upside of 33.90%. Given Dave’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Dave is more favorable than FirstCash.

Summary

Dave beats FirstCash on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About FirstCash

FirstCash Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates retail pawn stores in the United States, Mexico, and rest of Latin America. The company operates in three segments: U.S. Pawn, Latin America Pawn, and Retail POS Payment Solutions segments. Its pawn stores lend money on the collateral of pledged personal property, including jewelry, electronics, tools, appliances, sporting goods, and musical instruments; and retails merchandise acquired through collateral forfeitures on forfeited pawn loans and over-the-counter purchases of merchandise directly from customers. The company also provides retail POS payment solutions, which focuses on LTO products and facilitating other retail financing payment options across the network of traditional and e-commerce merchant partners. It serves cash and credit-constrained consumers. The company was formerly known as FirstCash, Inc and changed its name to FirstCash Holdings, Inc. in December 2021. FirstCash Holdings, Inc was incorporated in 1988 and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas.

About Dave

Dave, Inc. is a digital banking service. Its products include a budgeting tool to help members manage their upcoming bills to avoid overspending, cash advances through its flagship ExtraCash product to help members avoid punitive overdraft fees, a Side Hustle product, where Dave helps connect members with supplemental work opportunities, and Dave Banking, a modern checking account experience with valuable tools for building long-term financial health. The company was founded by Jason Wilk, Paras Chitrakar, and John Wolanin in October 2015 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, CA.