EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $27.00.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on EZPW. JMP Securities set a $23.00 price target on shares of EZCORP in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised EZCORP from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of EZCORP in a report on Tuesday, January 20th.

EZCORP Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EZPW opened at $24.34 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $21.24 and its 200-day moving average is $18.71. EZCORP has a 1-year low of $12.85 and a 1-year high of $26.35. 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 $1.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.60 and a beta of 0.53.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.15. EZCORP had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 12.37%. The business had revenue of $374.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $363.63 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that EZCORP will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EZCORP

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in EZCORP by 11.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,610,029 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $68,735,000 after acquiring an additional 369,817 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of EZCORP by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,563,724 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $69,209,000 after purchasing an additional 84,566 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of EZCORP by 47.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,167,748 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $61,518,000 after purchasing an additional 1,019,622 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its stake in EZCORP by 5.4% during the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,321,138 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,217,000 after purchasing an additional 118,641 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $37,612,000 after purchasing an additional 437,601 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.83% of the company’s stock.

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.