EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) Stock Jumps 4% – Here’s Why

EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW)’s share price shot up 4% on Monday. The stock traded as high as $33.24 and last traded at $33.2490. Approximately 228,474 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 902,480 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.96.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EZPW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of EZCORP from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of EZCORP from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.80.

EZCORP Stock Up 1.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 3.45 and a current ratio of 4.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.83 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.31.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The credit services provider reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $408.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $425.83 million. EZCORP had a net margin of 9.97% and a return on equity of 13.99%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that EZCORP, Inc. will post 2.00 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at EZCORP

In other EZCORP news, insider Ellen Bryant sold 30,000 shares of EZCORP stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.77, for a total value of $1,043,100.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 117,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,095,419.22. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EZPW. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in EZCORP by 50.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 457,861 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $11,621,000 after buying an additional 153,770 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in EZCORP by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 282,923 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,181,000 after acquiring an additional 9,363 shares in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new stake in EZCORP in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,452,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in EZCORP by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 193,627 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,914,000 after acquiring an additional 18,943 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC boosted its position in EZCORP by 634.5% during the 1st quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC now owns 189,239 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,803,000 after acquiring an additional 163,476 shares during the last quarter. 99.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About EZCORP

EZCORP, Inc is a financial services and retail company that operates pawn stores under brands including EZPAWN, Value Pawn and other regional names. Its stores provide short-term, collateral-based pawn loans to consumers who pledge personal property as security. Customers can generally reclaim pledged items by repaying the loan and applicable fees within the agreed term.

In addition to pawn lending, EZCORP generates revenue by selling pre-owned merchandise that has been forfeited or acquired through its stores.