Reviewing Jernigan Capital (NASDAQ:JCAP) & EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW)

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for EZCORP and Jernigan Capital, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
EZCORP	0	2	6	0	2.75
Jernigan Capital	0	2	4	1	2.86

EZCORP presently has a consensus price target of $39.00, indicating a potential upside of 31.31%. Jernigan Capital has a consensus price target of $27.50, indicating a potential upside of 41.46%. Given Jernigan Capital’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Jernigan Capital is more favorable than EZCORP.

Valuation and Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
EZCORP	$1.27 billion	1.43	$109.61 million	$1.98	15.00
Jernigan Capital	$659.62 million	1.69	$187.96 million	$2.45	7.93

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

Profitability

This table compares EZCORP and Jernigan Capital’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%
Jernigan Capital	23.50%	35.87%	8.16%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

99.8% of EZCORP shares are held by institutional investors. 2.1% of EZCORP shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.3% of Jernigan Capital shares are held 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.

Risk and Volatility

EZCORP has a beta of 0.71, meaning that its stock price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Jernigan Capital has a beta of -0.02, meaning that its stock price is 102% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Jernigan Capital beats EZCORP on 10 of the 15 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 Jernigan Capital

Jernigan Capital is a New York Stock Exchange-listed real estate investment trust (NYSE: JCAP) that provides debt and equity capital to private developers, owners and operators of self-storage facilities with a view to eventual outright ownership of facilities the Company finances. The Company's mission is to maximize shareholder value by accumulating a multi-billion dollar investment portfolio consisting of the newest, most attractive and best located self-storage facilities in the United States through a talented and experienced team demonstrating the highest levels of integrity, dedication, excellence and community.