American Express (NYSE:AXP) versus Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLCP) Head to Head Contrast

American Express (NYSE:AXP) and Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLCP) are both financial services companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, profitability, valuation and earnings.

Dividends

American Express pays an annual dividend of $2.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Atlanticus pays an annual dividend of $1.91 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.4%. American Express pays out 23.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

84.3% of American Express shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of American Express shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares American Express and Atlanticus’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
American Express	15.53%	32.94%	3.56%
Atlanticus	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares American Express and Atlanticus”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
American Express	$63.16 billion	3.09	$8.37 billion	$12.14	22.36
Atlanticus	$262.48 million	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

American Express has higher revenue and earnings than Atlanticus.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for American Express and Atlanticus, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
American Express	4	13	8	0	2.16
Atlanticus	0	0	0	0	N/A

American Express currently has a consensus target price of $253.09, indicating a potential downside of 6.77%. Given American Express’ higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe American Express is more favorable than Atlanticus.

Summary

American Express beats Atlanticus on 8 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About American Express

American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as integrated payments company in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Canada, the Caribbean, and Internationally. It operates through four segments: U.S. Consumer Services, Commercial Services, International Card Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services. The company’s products and services include credit card, charge card, banking, and other payment and financing products; network services; expense management products and services; and travel and lifestyle services. It also provides merchant acquisition and processing, servicing and settlement, point-of-sale marketing, and information products and services for merchants; and fraud prevention services, as well as the design and operation of customer loyalty programs. In addition, the company operates lounges at airports under Centurion Lounge brand name. It sells its products and services to consumers, small businesses, mid-sized companies, and large corporations through mobile and online applications, affiliate marketing, customer referral programs, third-party service providers and business partners, direct mail, telephone, in-house sales teams, and direct response advertising. American Express Company was founded in 1850 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About Atlanticus

Atlanticus Holdings Corporation, a financial technology company, provides credit and related financial services and products to customers the United States. It operates in two segments, Credit as a Service, and Auto Finance. The Credit as a Service segment originates a range of consumer loan products, such as private label and general purpose credit cards originated by lenders through various channels, including retail and healthcare, direct mail solicitation, digital marketing, and partnerships with third parties; and offers credit to their customers for the purchase of various goods and services, including consumer electronics, furniture, elective medical procedures, healthcare, and home-improvements by partnering with retailers, healthcare providers, and other service providers. This segment also offers loan servicing, such as risk management and customer service outsourcing for third parties; and engages in testing and investment activities in consumer finance technology platforms. The Auto Finance segment purchases and/or services loans secured by automobiles from or for a pre-qualified network of independent automotive dealers and automotive finance companies in the buy-here, pay-here, and used car business. This segment also provides floor plan financing and installment lending products. It also invests in and services portfolios of credit card receivables. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.