EZCORP (EZPW) Competitors

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) and Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, earnings, media sentiment, community ranking and analyst recommendations.

Which has more volatility & risk, EZPW or ECPG?

EZCORP has a beta of 0.59, indicating that its stock price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Encore Capital Group has a beta of 1.65, indicating that its stock price is 65% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts recommend EZPW or ECPG?

EZCORP currently has a consensus price target of $17.38, indicating a potential upside of 18.84%. Encore Capital Group has a consensus price target of $62.67, indicating a potential upside of 52.75%. Given Encore Capital Group's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Encore Capital Group is more favorable than EZCORP.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
EZCORP	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Encore Capital Group	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.25

Does the media refer more to EZPW or ECPG?

In the previous week, EZCORP had 4 more articles in the media than Encore Capital Group. MarketBeat recorded 14 mentions for EZCORP and 10 mentions for Encore Capital Group. Encore Capital Group's average media sentiment score of 1.07 beat EZCORP's score of 0.83 indicating that Encore Capital Group is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
EZCORP	6 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Encore Capital Group	4 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has higher valuation and earnings, EZPW or ECPG?

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

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
EZCORP	$1.20B	0.67	$83.10M	$1.19	12.29
Encore Capital Group	$1.32B	0.73	-$206.49M	-$4.89	-8.39

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in EZPW or ECPG?

99.8% of EZCORP shares are held by institutional investors. 2.1% of EZCORP shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.5% of Encore Capital Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is EZPW or ECPG more profitable?

EZCORP has a net margin of 7.25% compared to Encore Capital Group's net margin of -13.91%. Encore Capital Group's return on equity of 12.70% beat EZCORP's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
EZCORP	7.25%	11.04%	5.93%
Encore Capital Group	-13.91%	12.70%	2.61%

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in EZPW or ECPG?

Encore Capital Group received 1 more outperform votes than EZCORP when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 61.64% of users gave Encore Capital Group an outperform vote while only 56.31% of users gave EZCORP an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
EZCORP	Outperform Votes 330 56.31%	Underperform Votes 256 43.69%
Encore Capital Group	Outperform Votes 331 61.64%	Underperform Votes 206 38.36%

Summary

Encore Capital Group beats EZCORP on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.