Head-To-Head Analysis: Guild (NYSE:GHLD) versus UWM (NYSE:UWMC)

Guild (NYSE:GHLD – Get Rating) and UWM (NYSE:UWMC – Get Rating) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings and dividends.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

9.3% of Guild shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 33.1% of UWM shares are held by institutional investors. 78.0% of Guild shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Guild and UWM’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Guild	21.62%	19.18%	4.35%
UWM	2.78%	13.31%	2.39%

Risk and Volatility

Guild has a beta of 0.42, meaning that its share price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, UWM has a beta of 1.01, meaning that its share price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Guild and UWM’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Guild	$1.58 billion	0.38	$283.77 million	$5.39	1.84
UWM	$2.97 billion	0.10	$98.44 million	$0.56	5.88

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Guild and UWM, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Guild	0	1	3	0	2.75
UWM	1	10	1	0	2.00

Guild currently has a consensus target price of $15.38, suggesting a potential upside of 55.30%. UWM has a consensus target price of $5.56, suggesting a potential upside of 70.03%. Given UWM’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe UWM is more favorable than Guild.

Summary

Guild beats UWM on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

Guild Company Profile (Get Rating)

Guild Holdings Company, a mortgage company, originates, sells, and services residential mortgage loans in the United States. The company operates approximately 260 branches with licenses in 49 states. It originates residential mortgages through retail and correspondent channels. The company was incorporated in 1960 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

UWM Company Profile (Get Rating)

UWM Holdings Corporation engages in the residential mortgage lending business in the United States. The company originates mortgage loans through wholesale channel. It originates primarily conforming and government loans. UWM Holdings Corporation was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Pontiac, Michigan.

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