Canaccord Genuity Group Issues Positive Forecast for EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) Stock Price

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) had its price target hoisted by Canaccord Genuity Group from $34.00 to $40.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

EZPW has been the topic of several other reports. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of EZCORP in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Citizens Jmp boosted their price target on EZCORP from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded EZCORP from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of EZCORP in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Stephens upped their target price on EZCORP from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, EZCORP has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.50.

EZCORP Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EZPW opened at $27.66 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.73 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 6.03, a quick ratio of 4.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $25.19 and its 200-day moving average is $21.39. EZCORP has a 1-year low of $12.85 and a 1-year high of $27.70.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $374.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $363.63 million. EZCORP had a return on equity of 12.37% and a net margin of 9.18%. Equities research analysts anticipate that EZCORP will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gary Tillett sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.50, for a total value of $255,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 133,483 shares in the company, valued at $3,403,816.50. This represents a 6.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ellen H. Bryant sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total value of $500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 147,786 shares in the company, valued at $3,694,650. The trade was a 11.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 84,138 shares of company stock valued at $2,102,416. Insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of EZCORP

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 35,444 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $691,000 after buying an additional 3,261 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of EZCORP during the 4th quarter worth approximately $690,000. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 237,687 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,616,000 after buying an additional 17,294 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 433,234 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,413,000 after buying an additional 77,846 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 903,101 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,538,000 after buying an additional 9,087 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.