Analyzing Oportun Financial (NASDAQ:OPRT) and EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW)

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Oportun Financial and EZCORP, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

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

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Oportun Financial	2.05%	13.41%	1.66%
EZCORP	9.97%	13.99%	7.49%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

82.7% of Oportun Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.8% of EZCORP shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.6% of Oportun Financial 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 company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Oportun Financial and EZCORP”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Oportun Financial	$956.70 million	0.40	$25.25 million	$0.40	20.75
EZCORP	$1.27 billion	1.46	$109.61 million	$1.98	15.30

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.

Risk & Volatility

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

Summary

EZCORP beats Oportun Financial on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

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.