We recently published a list of 7 Cheapest Penny Stocks to Buy Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where OppFi Inc. (NYSE:OPFI) stands against other cheapest penny stocks.
What Does the Jobs Report Mean for the Stock Market
The Federal Reserve rate cut continues to be a hot topic for analysts especially with the new development that came in on October 4th with the Bureau of Labor Statistics releasing the job market report. One of the reasons why the Fed cut rates by 50 basis points was attributed to a weak labor market. It seems that the rate cut has worked but it also means that there might not be any urgency for the Fed to cut rates by another 50 basis points.
On October 4th Reuters reported the job market displayed significant resilience in September, with a notable increase of 254,000 non-farm payrolls and a drop in the unemployment rate to 4.1%. The United States Job gains increased the most in September when compared to the past six months. Moreover, on top of a higher than expected increase in non-farm jobs, wages also increased at a solid pace last month.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell had already pointed out that the urgency to cut interest rates is not what the market demands at the moment. He mentioned that the committee does not feel the hurry to cut rates quickly.
These recent developments have paved the way for smooth 25 basis point cuts and also brightened the path for a soft landing scenario. In one of our recent articles on 8 Stocks Under $20 To Invest In Now, we discussed the soft landing scenario in detail and what it will mean for the stock market. Here’s an excerpt from the article:
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“Larry Adam, chief investment officer at Raymond James, says that the current market is exactly what a soft landing looks like. Adam recently appeared in an interview on CNBC to talk about how the lower interest rates will benefit the small caps in particular the Russell 2000. He believes that the bull market will continue while the economy inches towards a soft landing.
When it comes to small-cap stocks they get around 56% of their financing from the short end of the curve. The short end of the curve refers to the short-term interest rate on the yield curve, which typically represents the yields on bonds with shorter maturities, such as 2-year or 5-year Treasury notes. Whereas the large-cap companies get only 26% financing from these short ends of the curve. Therefore, Adam believes that as the Fed continues to lower interest rates it will help small caps meet financing needs.
He further pointed out that it is expected that the Fed will cut twice this year and another four times the next year. Another reason why he likes small caps is because the economy is going towards a soft landing. Adam emphasized that we have already seen that the rate cuts helped small caps outperform the large caps. Historically speaking whenever the economy has a soft landing it typically helps the small caps greater than the rest of the market.”
To talk about how the market will look like after this report, Jeremy Siegel, Wharton School professor of finance joined CNBC. He pointed out an interesting fact from the jobs report. Siegel mentioned that although 550,000 new jobs were added in the third quarter, hours worked were virtually flat.
Siegel expects third-quarter GDP to be around 2.5% to 3%. Moreover, the good news for the stocks is that the current job market figures are not inflationary but rather pointing toward productivity. Professor Siegel emphasized that he never thought the second cut would be 50 basis points and vouched for a series of 25 basis points cuts each quarter. This all points towards the soft landing scenario becoming more likely.
Is There More Room for Small Caps to Rally?
Now that we know that the economy is moving towards a soft landing rather than a recession, let’s see how the small caps are expected to perform under current circumstances. To talk about the expected performance of small caps in a slowing economy, Nancy Prial, Co-CEO & Senior Portfolio Manager at Essex Investment Management recently joined CNBC for an inverview. Prial thinks that this is the beginning of a multi-year bull cycle for small cap stocks. There are few basic underlying factors behind this claim including small caps being significantly under owned, in fact they are at record lows as a percentage of the total equity market. Moreover, the valuations of small caps are incredibly attractive and well below their large cap counterparts in the S&P 500.
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Prial thinks what we really needed to turn the situation around was the Federal Reserve interest rate cuts and the confidence that the economy is moving towards a soft landing. Another significant factor that was needed is the relative earnings growth for small cap stocks. Prial quoted that the earnings growth for these stocks are expanding and expects that by the end of the year small caps will be growing faster than the large caps.
If we look at the S&P 500 EPS growth rate estimates, the market is expected to grow more than 13% year-over-year during the fourth quarter and more than 15% next year. As Nancy Prial mentioned that small caps are expected to outperform the large caps in growth, she further clarified that the overall indices might not be able to perform above 15%. However, to capitalize on the earnings growth trend, investors have to be good stock pickers as she believes there are going to be a lot of small cap stocks that will post more than 15% to 20% growth next year. Within the small cap category, Prial likes the energy sector as she thinks it will be a main player in the data center and AI industry for the years to come.
Our Methodology
To compile the list of 7 cheapest penny stocks to buy now we used the Finviz stock screener. Using the screener we got a consolidated list of stocks trading under $5, with a forward price-to-earnings ratio under 24.35 (the market’s P/E ratio as per Wall Street Journal), and with earnings expected to grow this year. Once we had an aggregated list of stocks that fit our criteria we then ranked them based on the number of hedge fund holders in Q2 2024, sourced from Insider Monkey’s database. The list is ranked in ascending order of the number of hedge funds. Please note that the share prices mentioned in the article were recorded on October 7, 2024.
Why do we care about what hedge funds do? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
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OppFi Inc. (OPFI): Expanding Financial Access for Millions of Americans
High rise office buildings used by the financial technology platform in Chicago.
OppFi Inc. (NYSE:OPFI)
Share Price: $4.47
Forward P/E Ratio: 6.01
Earnings Growth This Year: 45.10%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 15
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OppFi Inc. (NYSE:OPFI) is a financial technology company that enables Americans to access credit from commercial banks. It allows people to access loans and credit products through its platform, who otherwise are not eligible for traditional loans. The company offers three main programs including OppLoans, where eligible applicants can apply for loans online through a mobile-friendly platform, the TurnUp Program helps users compare various credit products in the market, lastly, the SalaryTrap which allows borrowers to repay directly from their paychecks.
When it comes to the investment case for OppFi Inc. (NYSE:OPFI) two things stand out. First is its history of profitability, the company has been generating positive net income for the past 9 years. Second, the point of attraction is its addressable market which accounts for more than 60 million Americans with no bank accounts or access to traditional banking services.
Talking about profitability, OppFi Inc. (NYSE:OPFI) posted a record second quarter during the current year. Its net income increased 53.1% year-over-year to reach $27.7 million, indicating the record second-quarter income the company has ever generated. Its adjusted earnings per share also increased 53.3% during the same time. Both net income and EPS bested management’s expectations, resulting in a raised full-year guidance by more than 20%.
OppFi Inc. (NYSE:OPFI) is trading at a discounted valuation. It is trading at only 6 times its forward earnings with analysts expecting its earnings to grow by 45% during the year, thereby making OPFI one of the cheapest penny stocks to buy now.
Overall, OPFI ranks 6th on our list of cheapest penny stocks to buy now. While we acknowledge the potential of OPFI to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for a promising AI stock that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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READ NEXT:$30 Trillion Opportunity: 15 Best Humanoid Robot Stocks to Buy According to Morgan Stanley and Jim Cramer Says NVIDIA ‘Has Become A Wasteland’. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
My spreadsheet reviewed a WalletHub ranking of financial distress for the residents of 100 U.S. cities, including 17 in California. The analysis compared local credit scores, late bill payments, bankruptcy filings and online searches for debt or loans to quantify where individuals had the largest money challenges.
When California cities were divided into three geographic regions – Southern California, the Bay Area, and anything inland – the most challenges were often found far from the coast.
The average national ranking of the six inland cities was 39th worst for distress, the most troubled grade among the state’s slices.
Bakersfield received the inland region’s worst score, ranking No. 24 highest nationally for financial distress. That was followed by Sacramento (30th), San Bernardino (39th), Stockton (43rd), Fresno (45th), and Riverside (52nd).
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Southern California’s seven cities overall fared better, with an average national ranking of 56th largest financial problems.
However, Los Angeles had the state’s ugliest grade, ranking fifth-worst nationally for monetary distress. Then came San Diego at 22nd-worst, then Long Beach (48th), Irvine (70th), Anaheim (71st), Santa Ana (85th), and Chula Vista (89th).
Monetary challenges were limited in the Bay Area. Its four cities average rank was 69th worst nationally.
San Jose had the region’s most distressed finances, with a No. 50 worst ranking. That was followed by Oakland (69th), San Francisco (72nd), and Fremont (83rd).
The results remind us that inland California’s affordability – it’s home to the state’s cheapest housing, for example – doesn’t fully compensate for wages that typically decline the farther one works from the Pacific Ocean.
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A peek inside the scorecard’s grades shows where trouble exists within California.
Credit scores were the lowest inland, with little difference elsewhere. Late payments were also more common inland. Tardy bills were most difficult to find in Northern California.
Bankruptcy problems also were bubbling inland, but grew the slowest in Southern California. And worrisome online searches were more frequent inland, while varying only slightly closer to the Pacific.
Note: Across the state’s 17 cities in the study, the No. 53 average rank is a middle-of-the-pack grade on the 100-city national scale for monetary woes.
Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com
The up-and-coming fintech scored a pair of fourth-quarter beats.
Diversified fintech Chime Financial(CHYM +12.88%) was playing a satisfying tune to investors on Thursday. The company’s stock flew almost 14% higher that trading session, thanks mostly to a fourth quarter that featured notably higher-than-expected revenue guidance.
Sweet music
Chime published its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results just after market close on Wednesday. For the former period, the company’s revenue was $596 million, bettering the same quarter of 2024 by 25%. The company’s strongest revenue stream, payments, rose 17% to $396 million. Its take from platform-related activity rose more precipitously, advancing 47% to $200 million.
Image source: Getty Images.
Meanwhile, Chime’s net loss under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) more than doubled. It was $45 million, or $0.12 per share, compared with a fourth-quarter 2024 deficit of $19.6 million.
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On average, analysts tracking the stock were modeling revenue below $578 million and a deeper bottom-line loss of $0.20 per share.
In its earnings release, Chime pointed to the take-up of its Chime Card as a particular catalyst for growth. Regarding the product, the company said, “Among new member cohorts, over half are adopting Chime Card, and those members are putting over 70% of their Chime spend on the product, which earns materially higher take rates compared to debit.”
Today’s Change
(12.88%) $2.72
Current Price
$23.83
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Key Data Points
Market Cap
$7.9B
Day’s Range
$22.30 – $24.63
52wk Range
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$16.17 – $44.94
Volume
562K
Avg Vol
3.3M
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Gross Margin
86.34%
Double-digit growth expected
Chime management proffered revenue and non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) guidance for full-year 2026. The company expects to post a top line of $627 million to $637 million, which would represent at least 21% growth over the 2024 result. Adjusted EBITDA should be $380 million to $400 million. No net income forecasts were provided in the earnings release.
It isn’t easy to find a niche in the financial industry, which is crowded with companies offering every imaginable type of service to clients. Yet Chime seems to be achieving that, as the Chime Card is clearly a hit among the company’s target demographic of clientele underserved by mainstream banks. This growth stock is definitely worth considering as a buy.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Student athletes are now earning real money thanks to name, image, likeness deals — but with that opportunity comes the need for financial preparation.
Noah Collins Howard and Dayshawn Preston are two high school juniors with Division I offers on the table. Both are chasing their dreams on the field, and both are navigating something brand new off of it — their finances.
“When it comes to NIL, some people just want the money, and they just spend it immediately. Well, you’ve got to know how to take care of your money. And again, you need to know how to grow it because you don’t want to just spend it,” said Collins Howard.
What You Need To Know
High school athletes with Division I prospects are learning to manage NIL money before they even reach college
Glory2Glory Sports Agency and Advantage Federal Credit Union have partnered to give young athletes access to financial literacy tools and credit-building resources
Financial experts warn that starting money habits early is key to long-term stability for student athletes entering the NIL era
Preston said the experience has already been eye-opening.
“It’s very important. Especially my first time having my own card and bank account — so that’s super exciting,” Preston said.
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For many young athletes, the money comes before the knowledge. That’s where Glory2Glory Sports Agency in Rochester comes in — helping athletes prepare for life outside of sports.
“College sports is now pro sports. These kids are going from one extreme to the other financially, and it’s important for them to have the tools necessary to navigate that massive shift,” said Antoine Hyman, CEO of Glory2Glory Sports Agency.
Through their Students for Change program, athletes get access to student checking accounts, financial literacy courses and credit-building tools — all through a partnership with Advantage Federal Credit Union.
“It’s never too early to start. We have youth accounts, student checking accounts — they were all designed specifically for students and the youth,” said Diane Miller, VP of marketing and PR at Advantage Federal Credit Union.
The goal goes beyond what’s in their pocket today. It’s about building habits that will protect them for life.
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“If you don’t start young, you’re always catching up. The younger you start them, the better off they’re going to be on that financial path,” added Nihada Donohew, executive vice president of Advantage Federal Credit Union.
For these athletes, having the right support system makes all the difference.
“It’s really great to have a support system around you. Help you get local deals with the local shops,” Preston added.
Collins-Howard said the program has given him a broader perspective beyond just the game.
“It gives me a better understanding of how to take care of myself and prepare myself for the future of giving back to the community,” Collins-Howard said.
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“These high school kids need someone to legitimately advocate their skills, their character and help them pick the right space. Everything has changed now,” Hyman added.
NIL opened the door. Programs like this one make sure these athletes walk through it — with a plan.
