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

EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $38.80.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Research cut EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Citizens Jmp raised their target price on EZCORP from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $44.00 price target on shares of EZCORP in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Friday, May 8th.

EZCORP Price Performance

EZCORP stock opened at $29.18 on Friday. EZCORP has a 52 week low of $15.12 and a 52 week high of $37.13. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $31.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.04. The stock has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.74 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 4.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The credit services provider reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $408.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $425.83 million. EZCORP had a return on equity of 14.28% and a net margin of 9.97%. On average, equities analysts predict that EZCORP will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other EZCORP news, Director Jason A. Kulas sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.56, for a total value of $671,200.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 172,948 shares in the company, valued at $5,804,134.88. The trade was a 10.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 transaction, the director directly owned 207,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,376,078.22. This represents 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 ninety days, insiders sold 40,000 shares of company stock worth $1,346,600. Insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EZCORP

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of EZCORP in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in EZCORP in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. KBC Group NV bought a new stake in EZCORP in the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in EZCORP by 533.5% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,667 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 2,246 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC raised its stake in EZCORP by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,146 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 724 shares during the period. 99.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.