EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) Stock Price Down 6.5% – Should You Sell?

EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) traded down 6.5% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $30.71 and last traded at $29.9870. 544,017 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 35% from the average session volume of 837,375 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.07.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of EZCORP from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Citizens Jmp upped their price target on shares of EZCORP from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of EZCORP from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of EZCORP from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of EZCORP in a report on Monday, May 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.25.

EZCORP Trading Down 12.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a current ratio of 4.71. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.53. The company has a market capitalization of $1.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.20 and a beta of 0.63.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The credit services provider reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.22. EZCORP had a net margin of 9.91% and a return on equity of 13.45%. The company had revenue of $434.90 million for the quarter. Research analysts predict that EZCORP, Inc. 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 stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.56, for a total transaction of $671,200.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 172,948 shares in the company, valued at $5,804,134.88. This represents a 10.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Pablo Lagos Espinosa sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total transaction of $320,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 217,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,961,376. The trade was a 4.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 2.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of EZCORP

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EZPW. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of EZCORP during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of EZCORP during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. KBC Group NV purchased a new stake in shares of EZCORP during the first quarter valued at about $44,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of EZCORP by 533.5% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,667 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 2,246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of EZCORP by 913.5% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,216 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 3,800 shares during the last quarter. 99.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.