EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) Rating Lowered to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on EZPW. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of EZCORP in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. JMP Securities set a $23.00 target price on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Citizens Jmp started coverage on EZCORP in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. They issued a “market outperform” rating and a $23.00 price target for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.17.

EZCORP Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:EZPW opened at $21.37 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.37, a current ratio of 5.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. EZCORP has a 52-week low of $11.60 and a 52-week high of $21.99. The company has a 50 day moving average of $19.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.31. The company has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.16 and a beta of 0.55.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 13th. The credit services provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.05. EZCORP had a net margin of 8.60% and a return on equity of 12.00%. The company had revenue of $335.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $325.09 million. As a group, analysts forecast that EZCORP will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EZCORP

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in EZCORP by 23.6% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 19,375 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 3,705 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 21.8% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,455,869 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $21,430,000 after acquiring an additional 260,085 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in shares of EZCORP during the first quarter valued at approximately $362,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of EZCORP during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,646,000. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in EZCORP by 67.3% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 108,879 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,603,000 after purchasing an additional 43,786 shares in the last quarter. 99.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About EZCORP

EZCORP, Inc is a specialty consumer finance company that provides pawn loans and retail merchandise programs primarily through its EZPAWN and Cash Converters brands. The company offers collateral-based loans secured principally by jewelry, electronics, musical instruments and other personal items, alongside check-cashing, money-transfer and bill-payment services. In addition to its pawn lending operations, EZCORP acquires previously pawned or consumer merchandise for resale through its “Sell-It-Now” platform and retail storefronts.

Founded in 1989 and headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, EZCORP operates in two principal geographic markets: the United States and Mexico.