Comparing Oportun Financial (NASDAQ:OPRT) & EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW)

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

Profitability

This table compares EZCORP and Oportun Financial’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%
Oportun Financial	2.05%	13.41%	1.66%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

99.8% of EZCORP shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.7% of Oportun Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 2.1% of EZCORP shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of Oportun Financial shares are held by company 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.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for EZCORP and Oportun Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
EZCORP	0	2	6	0	2.75
Oportun Financial	0	3	2	0	2.40

EZCORP currently has a consensus target price of $38.80, indicating a potential upside of 28.10%. Oportun Financial has a consensus target price of $7.33, indicating a potential downside of 11.65%. Given EZCORP’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe EZCORP is more favorable than Oportun Financial.

Risk & Volatility

EZCORP has a beta of 0.64, meaning that its share price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Oportun Financial has a beta of 1.24, meaning that its share price is 24% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares EZCORP and Oportun Financial”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	1.46	$109.61 million	$1.98	15.30
Oportun Financial	$956.70 million	0.40	$25.25 million	$0.40	20.75

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

Summary

EZCORP beats Oportun Financial on 12 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 Oportun Financial

Oportun Financial Corporation provides financial services. The company offers personal loans and credit cards. It serves customers through online and over the phone, as well as through retail and Lending as a Service partner locations. The company was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in San Carlos, California.