Reviewing EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) & SLM (NASDAQ:SLM)

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SLM	15.46%	21.93%	1.49%
EZCORP	7.96%	11.85%	6.13%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for SLM and EZCORP, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SLM	0	3	7	0	2.70
EZCORP	0	2	3	1	2.83

SLM currently has a consensus price target of $33.89, indicating a potential upside of 25.33%. EZCORP has a consensus price target of $19.00, indicating a potential upside of 0.80%. Given SLM’s higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe SLM is more favorable than EZCORP.

Volatility and Risk

SLM has a beta of 1.11, suggesting that its share price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, EZCORP has a beta of 0.62, suggesting that its share price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares SLM and EZCORP”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SLM	$2.62 billion	2.15	$608.33 million	$1.99	13.59
EZCORP	$1.16 billion	0.99	$83.10 million	$1.28	14.73

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

98.9% of SLM shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.8% of EZCORP shares are held by institutional investors. 1.3% of SLM 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 stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

SLM beats EZCORP on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About SLM

SLM Corporation, through its subsidiaries, originates and services private education loans to students and their families to finance the cost of their education in the United States. It is also involved in the provision of retail deposit accounts, including certificates of deposit, money market accounts, and high-yield savings accounts; and interest-bearing omnibus accounts. The company was formerly known as New BLC Corporation and changed its name to SLM Corporation in December 2013. SLM Corporation was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Newark, Delaware.

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.