Lufax (NYSE:LU) and EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) Head to Head Survey

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) and Lufax (NYSE:LU) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation and risk.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

99.8% of EZCORP shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.1% of Lufax shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.1% of EZCORP shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

EZCORP has a beta of 0.66, suggesting that its share price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lufax has a beta of 0.8, suggesting that its share price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
EZCORP	$1.27 billion	1.59	$109.61 million	$1.98	16.67
Lufax	$3.77 billion	0.30	-$291.79 million	($0.61)	-2.13

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
EZCORP	9.97%	13.99%	7.49%
Lufax	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for EZCORP and Lufax, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
EZCORP	0	2	6	0	2.75
Lufax	2	1	1	0	1.75

EZCORP presently has a consensus target price of $38.80, indicating a potential upside of 17.58%. Lufax has a consensus target price of $1.70, indicating a potential upside of 30.77%. Given Lufax’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Lufax is more favorable than EZCORP.

Summary

EZCORP beats Lufax on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Lufax

Lufax Holding Ltd operates as a financial service empowering institution for small and micro businesses in China. The company offers loan products, including general unsecured loans and secured loans, as well as consumer finance loans. It also provides wealth management products, such as asset management plans, mutual fund products, private investment fund products, and trust products. The company was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Shanghai, China.