Financial Contrast: EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) and Katapult (NASDAQ:KPLT)
by Mitch Edgeman · The Markets DailyKatapult (NASDAQ:KPLT – Get Free Report) and EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, profitability, valuation and dividends.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Katapult and EZCORP, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Katapult | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
| EZCORP | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 2.75 |
EZCORP has a consensus price target of $38.80, suggesting a potential upside of 26.34%. Given EZCORP’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe EZCORP is more favorable than Katapult.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Katapult 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 | |
| Katapult | $291.76 million | 0.14 | $1.37 million | $1.37 | 6.08 |
| EZCORP | $1.27 billion | 1.48 | $109.61 million | $1.98 | 15.51 |
EZCORP has higher revenue and earnings than Katapult. Katapult is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than EZCORP, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
26.8% of Katapult shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.8% of EZCORP shares are held by institutional investors. 8.0% of Katapult shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of EZCORP shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares Katapult and EZCORP’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Katapult | 3.60% | -26.41% | 10.86% |
| EZCORP | 9.97% | 13.99% | 7.49% |
Risk and Volatility
Katapult has a beta of 1.55, meaning that its share price is 55% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, EZCORP has a beta of 0.64, meaning that its share price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
EZCORP beats Katapult on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Katapult
Katapult Holdings, Inc., an e-commerce focused financial technology company, provides e-commerce point-of-sale lease-purchase options for nonprime consumers in the United States. The company's technology platform provides nonprime consumers with a lease purchase option to enable them to obtain durable goods from its network of e-commerce retailers. It also offers Katapult Pay, a one-time use virtual card technology that makes lease purchasing and transactions. The company was formerly known as Cognical Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to Katapult Holdings, Inc. in February 2020. The company is headquartered in Plano, Texas.
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.