EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $30.96 and last traded at $30.6860, with a volume of 50642 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.54.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings raised EZCORP from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Stephens boosted their price objective on EZCORP from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Citizens Jmp boosted their price objective on EZCORP from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, EZCORP has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.50.

EZCORP Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.00. 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 has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.54 and a beta of 0.52.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.15. EZCORP had a return on equity of 12.37% and a net margin of 9.18%.The business had revenue of $374.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $363.63 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that EZCORP, Inc. will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Pablo Lagos Espinosa sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total value of $500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 208,177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,204,425. This represents a 8.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CRO Nicole Swies sold 24,138 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total value of $597,415.50. Following the sale, the executive owned 115,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,852,833.50. This trade represents a 17.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 84,138 shares of company stock valued at $2,102,416. 2.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EZCORP

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in EZCORP by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 15,960 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in EZCORP by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 73,064 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,014,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its position in EZCORP by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 18,173 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $353,000 after acquiring an additional 685 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in EZCORP by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,146 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in EZCORP by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 80,959 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,541,000 after acquiring an additional 860 shares during the last quarter. 99.83% of the stock is currently 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.