World Acceptance (NASDAQ:WRLD) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of World Acceptance (NASDAQ:WRLD) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report report published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings raised World Acceptance from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut World Acceptance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, World Acceptance has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.00.

World Acceptance Stock Down 3.5%

World Acceptance stock opened at $131.89 on Monday. World Acceptance has a fifty-two week low of $104.99 and a fifty-two week high of $185.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 17.83 and a current ratio of 24.16. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $169.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $159.50. The company has a market capitalization of $718.80 million, a PE ratio of 12.62 and a beta of 1.35.

World Acceptance (NASDAQ:WRLD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported ($0.38) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.87 by ($2.25). World Acceptance had a net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 13.74%. The company had revenue of $134.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $127.85 million. Research analysts expect that World Acceptance will post 14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at World Acceptance

In other news, Director Charles D. Way sold 402 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $64,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 15,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,463,200. The trade was a 2.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Prescott General Partners Llc sold 347,064 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.88, for a total value of $60,000,424.32. Following the transaction, the insider owned 41,804 shares in the company, valued at $7,227,075.52. This represents a 89.25% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 351,855 shares of company stock worth $60,798,681 over the last three months. 41.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PDT Partners LLC raised its position in World Acceptance by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. PDT Partners LLC now owns 4,894 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $619,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in World Acceptance by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,044 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in World Acceptance by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 10,600 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,750,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of World Acceptance by 2.9% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 3,480 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $575,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of World Acceptance by 2.4% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 5,575 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $927,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.63% of the company’s stock.

About World Acceptance

World Acceptance Corporation engages in consumer finance business in the United States. The company provides short-term small installment loans, medium-term larger installment loans, related credit insurance, and ancillary products and services to individuals. It offers income tax return preparation and filing services; and automobile club memberships.