Head to Head Review: EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) and Atlanticus Holdings Co. 9.25% Senior Notes due 2029 (NASDAQ:ATLCZ)

Atlanticus Holdings Co. 9.25% Senior Notes due 2029 (NASDAQ:ATLCZ) and EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, dividends, risk and valuation.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Atlanticus Holdings Co. 9.25% Senior Notes due 2029 and EZCORP”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Atlanticus Holdings Co. 9.25% Senior Notes due 2029	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
EZCORP	$1.27 billion	1.37	$109.61 million	$1.98	14.33

EZCORP has higher revenue and earnings than Atlanticus Holdings Co. 9.25% Senior Notes due 2029.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Atlanticus Holdings Co. 9.25% Senior Notes due 2029 and EZCORP, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Atlanticus Holdings Co. 9.25% Senior Notes due 2029	0	0	0	0	0.00
EZCORP	0	2	6	0	2.75

EZCORP has a consensus price target of $38.80, suggesting a potential upside of 36.72%. Given EZCORP’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe EZCORP is more favorable than Atlanticus Holdings Co. 9.25% Senior Notes due 2029.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

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

Profitability

This table compares Atlanticus Holdings Co. 9.25% Senior Notes due 2029 and EZCORP’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Atlanticus Holdings Co. 9.25% Senior Notes due 2029	N/A	N/A	N/A
EZCORP	9.97%	13.99%	7.49%

Summary

EZCORP beats Atlanticus Holdings Co. 9.25% Senior Notes due 2029 on 9 of the 9 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.