Head to Head Survey: EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) versus Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST)

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) and EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation and earnings.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

63.0% of Upstart shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.8% of EZCORP shares are held by institutional investors. 17.3% of Upstart shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of EZCORP shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Upstart and EZCORP”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Upstart	$1.04 billion	2.25	$53.60 million	$0.49	49.18
EZCORP	$1.27 billion	1.54	$109.61 million	$1.98	16.14

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

Volatility & Risk

Upstart has a beta of 2.43, suggesting that its share price is 143% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, EZCORP has a beta of 0.71, suggesting that its share price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Upstart and EZCORP’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Upstart	4.84%	7.13%	1.82%
EZCORP	9.97%	13.99%	7.49%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Upstart and EZCORP, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Upstart	2	7	8	0	2.35
EZCORP	0	2	6	0	2.75

Upstart currently has a consensus target price of $43.75, indicating a potential upside of 81.54%. EZCORP has a consensus target price of $38.80, indicating a potential upside of 21.40%. Given Upstart’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Upstart is more favorable than EZCORP.

Summary

EZCORP beats Upstart on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Upstart

Upstart Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates a cloud-based artificial intelligence (AI) lending platform in the United States. Its platform includes personal loans, automotive retail and refinance loans, home equity lines of credit, and small dollar loans that connects consumer demand for loans to its to bank and credit unions. Upstart Holdings, Inc. was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in San Mateo, California.

About EZCORP

EZCORP, Inc. provides pawn services in the United States and Latin America. The company operates through three segments: U.S. Pawn, Latin America Pawn, and Other Investments. The company offers pawn loans collateralized by tangible personal property, jewelry, consumer electronics, tools, sporting goods, and musical instruments. It also retails merchandise, primarily collateral forfeited from pawn lending operations and pre-owned merchandise purchased from customers. In addition, the company provides EZ+, a web-based application that allow customers to manage their pawn transactions, layaways, and loyalty rewards online. Further, it operates under the EZPAWN, Value Pawn & Jewelry, Empeño Fácil, Cash Apoyo Efectivo, GuatePrenda, and MaxiEfectivo brands. EZCORP, Inc. was incorporated in 1989 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.