Head to Head Comparison: Lufax (NYSE:LU) and EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW)

Lufax (NYSE:LU) and EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, earnings, dividends, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Lufax and EZCORP”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lufax	$3.77 billion	0.30	-$291.79 million	($0.61)	-2.13
EZCORP	$1.27 billion	1.59	$109.61 million	$1.98	16.67

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Lufax and EZCORP, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lufax	2	1	1	0	1.75
EZCORP	0	2	6	0	2.75

Lufax presently has a consensus target price of $1.70, suggesting a potential upside of 30.77%. EZCORP has a consensus target price of $38.80, suggesting a potential upside of 17.58%. Given Lufax’s higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Lufax is more favorable than EZCORP.

Volatility and Risk

Lufax has a beta of 0.8, indicating that its share price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, EZCORP has a beta of 0.66, indicating that its share price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

69.1% of Lufax shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.8% of EZCORP shares are held by institutional investors. 2.1% of EZCORP shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lufax	N/A	N/A	N/A
EZCORP	9.97%	13.99%	7.49%

Summary

EZCORP beats Lufax on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lufax

Lufax Holding Ltd operates as a financial service empowering institution for small and micro businesses in China. The company offers loan products, including general unsecured loans and secured loans, as well as consumer finance loans. It also provides wealth management products, such as asset management plans, mutual fund products, private investment fund products, and trust products. The company was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Shanghai, China.

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.