Lufax (NYSE:LU) and Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) Critical Contrast

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) and Lufax (NYSE:LU) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation and profitability.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Upbound Group and Lufax”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Upbound Group	$4.70 billion	0.23	$73.24 million	$1.54	11.89
Lufax	$3.77 billion	0.28	-$291.79 million	($0.61)	-2.01

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

Risk and Volatility

Upbound Group has a beta of 1.77, suggesting that its share price is 77% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lufax has a beta of 0.76, suggesting that its share price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

90.3% of Upbound Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.1% of Lufax shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of Upbound Group shares are held by company 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.

Profitability

This table compares Upbound Group and Lufax’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Upbound Group	1.90%	34.53%	7.69%
Lufax	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Upbound Group and Lufax, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Upbound Group	1	2	2	0	2.20
Lufax	2	1	1	0	1.75

Upbound Group presently has a consensus target price of $30.67, indicating a potential upside of 67.49%. Lufax has a consensus target price of $1.70, indicating a potential upside of 38.78%. Given Upbound Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Upbound Group is more favorable than Lufax.

Summary

Upbound Group beats Lufax on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Upbound Group

Upbound Group, Inc. leases household durable goods to customers on a lease-to-own basis in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. It operates through four segments: Rent-A-Center, Acima, Mexico, and Franchising. The company's brands, such as Rent-A-Center and Acima that facilitate consumer transactions across a range of store-based and virtual channels. It offers furniture comprising mattresses, tires, consumer electronics, appliances, tools, handbags, computers, smartphones, and accessories. It also provides merchandise on an installment sales basis; and the lease-to-own transaction to consumers who do not qualify for traditional financing, the lease to-own transaction through staffed or unstaffed kiosks located in third-party retailer's locations, and other virtual options. It operates retail installment sales stores under the Get It Now and Home Choice names; lease-to-own and franchised lease-to-own stores under the Rent-A-Centre, ColorTyme, and RimTyme names; and company-owned stores and e-commerce platform through rentacenter.com. The company was formerly known as Rent-A-Center, Inc. and changed its name to Upbound Group, Inc. in February 2023. Upbound Group, Inc. was founded in 1960 and is based in Plano, Texas.

About Lufax

Lufax Holding Ltd operates as a financial service empowering institution for small and micro businesses in China. The company offers loan products, including general unsecured loans and secured loans, as well as consumer finance loans. It also provides wealth management products, such as asset management plans, mutual fund products, private investment fund products, and trust products. The company was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Shanghai, China.