EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $38.80.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on EZPW shares. Zacks Research downgraded EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Citizens Jmp raised their price objective on EZCORP from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Monday, May 11th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jason A. Kulas sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.56, for a total transaction of $671,200.00. Following the sale, the director owned 172,948 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,804,134.88. The trade was a 10.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Pablo Lagos Espinosa sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.54, for a total transaction of $355,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 207,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,376,078.22. The trade was a 4.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 40,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,346,600. Corporate insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of EZCORP by 47.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,167,748 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $61,518,000 after purchasing an additional 1,019,622 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its position in EZCORP by 70.2% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,063,677 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $14,764,000 after buying an additional 438,542 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in EZCORP by 28.5% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,975,421 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $37,612,000 after buying an additional 437,601 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in EZCORP by 89.2% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 785,131 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $15,247,000 after buying an additional 370,103 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in EZCORP by 121.5% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 644,120 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $12,509,000 after buying an additional 353,327 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.83% of the company’s stock.

EZCORP Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of EZCORP stock opened at $32.09 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 4.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.44 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $32.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.04. EZCORP has a 52-week low of $13.07 and a 52-week high of $37.13.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The credit services provider reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $434.90 million during the quarter. EZCORP had a net margin of 9.91% and a return on equity of 13.45%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that EZCORP will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EZCORP Company Profile

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.