Analyzing Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) and EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW)

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

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Upstart and EZCORP”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Upstart	$1.04 billion	2.20	$53.60 million	$0.49	48.08
EZCORP	$1.27 billion	1.59	$109.61 million	$1.98	16.67

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.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Upstart and EZCORP, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Upstart	3	7	7	0	2.24
EZCORP	0	2	6	0	2.75

Upstart presently has a consensus target price of $42.94, suggesting a potential upside of 82.25%. EZCORP has a consensus target price of $39.00, suggesting a potential upside of 18.18%. Given Upstart’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Upstart is more favorable than EZCORP.

Volatility and Risk

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

63.0% of Upstart shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.8% of EZCORP shares are owned by institutional investors. 17.3% of Upstart shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of EZCORP shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

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%

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.