Comparing Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) & Iris Energy (NASDAQ:IREN)

Iris Energy (NASDAQ:IREN) and Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability and earnings.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

41.1% of Iris Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.5% of Synchrony Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 21.6% of Iris Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Synchrony Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Iris Energy and Synchrony Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Iris Energy	-36.10%	-8.01%	-7.37%
Synchrony Financial	13.98%	16.64%	1.96%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Iris Energy and Synchrony Financial”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Iris Energy	$188.76 million	13.12	-$28.95 million	N/A	N/A
Synchrony Financial	$20.71 billion	1.26	$2.24 billion	$7.66	8.73

Synchrony Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Iris Energy.

Risk and Volatility

Iris Energy has a beta of 3.54, meaning that its share price is 254% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Synchrony Financial has a beta of 1.63, meaning that its share price is 63% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Iris Energy and Synchrony Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Iris Energy	0	2	8	1	2.91
Synchrony Financial	1	6	14	1	2.68

Iris Energy currently has a consensus price target of $17.56, suggesting a potential upside of 33.20%. Synchrony Financial has a consensus price target of $61.53, suggesting a potential downside of 7.99%. Given Iris Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Iris Energy is more favorable than Synchrony Financial.

Summary

Synchrony Financial beats Iris Energy on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Iris Energy

Iris Energy Limited owns and operates bitcoin mining data centers. The company was incorporated in 2018 and is headquartered in Sydney, Australia.

About Synchrony Financial

Synchrony Financial, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a consumer financial services company in the United States. It provides credit products, such as credit cards, commercial credit products, and consumer installment loans. The company also offers private label credit cards, dual co-brand and general purpose credit cards, short- and long-term installment loans, and consumer banking products; and deposit products, including certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, money market accounts, and savings accounts, and sweep and affinity deposits, as well as accepts deposits through third-party securities brokerage firms. In addition, it provides debt cancellation products to its credit card customers through online, mobile, and direct mail; and healthcare payments and financing solutions under the CareCredit and Walgreens brands; payments and financing solutions in the apparel, specialty retail, outdoor, music, and luxury industries, such as American Eagle, Dick's Sporting Goods, Guitar Center, Kawasaki, Pandora, Polaris, Suzuki, and Sweetwater. The company offers its credit products through programs established with a group of national and regional retailers, local merchants, manufacturers, buying groups, industry associations, and healthcare service providers; and deposit products through various channels, such as digital and print. It serves digital, health and wellness, retail, home, auto, telecommunications, jewelry, pets, and other industries. The company was founded in 1932 and is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut.