Critical Analysis: Katapult (NASDAQ:KPLT) vs. EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW)

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

Risk and Volatility

EZCORP has a beta of 0.64, suggesting that its stock price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Katapult has a beta of 1.55, suggesting that its stock price is 55% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

99.8% of EZCORP shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 26.8% of Katapult shares are held by institutional investors. 2.1% of EZCORP shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 8.0% of Katapult shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares EZCORP and Katapult’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%
Katapult	3.60%	-26.41%	10.86%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for EZCORP and Katapult, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
EZCORP	0	2	6	0	2.75
Katapult	1	0	0	0	1.00

EZCORP currently has a consensus target price of $38.80, suggesting a potential upside of 19.49%. Given EZCORP’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe EZCORP is more favorable than Katapult.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares EZCORP and Katapult”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	1.57	$109.61 million	$1.98	16.40
Katapult	$301.71 million	0.16	$1.37 million	$1.37	6.88

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

Summary

EZCORP beats Katapult 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 Katapult

Katapult Holdings, Inc., an e-commerce focused financial technology company, provides e-commerce point-of-sale lease-purchase options for nonprime consumers in the United States. The company's technology platform provides nonprime consumers with a lease purchase option to enable them to obtain durable goods from its network of e-commerce retailers. It also offers Katapult Pay, a one-time use virtual card technology that makes lease purchasing and transactions. The company was formerly known as Cognical Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to Katapult Holdings, Inc. in February 2020. The company is headquartered in Plano, Texas.