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

Shares of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $28.00.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on EZPW. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of EZCORP in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $34.00 target price on EZCORP in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen raised EZCORP from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Citizens Jmp raised their price objective on EZCORP from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Stephens upped their target price on EZCORP from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling at EZCORP

In other EZCORP news, insider Ellen H. Bryant sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 147,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,694,650. The trade was a 11.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gary Tillett sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.50, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 133,483 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,403,816.50. The trade was a 6.97% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 84,138 shares of company stock worth $2,102,416. 2.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EZCORP

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in EZCORP by 11.4% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in 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 worth $69,209,000 after purchasing an additional 84,566 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in EZCORP by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,167,748 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $61,518,000 after purchasing an additional 1,019,622 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its stake in EZCORP by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,321,138 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,217,000 after buying an additional 118,641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in EZCORP by 28.5% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,975,421 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $37,612,000 after buying an additional 437,601 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.83% of the company’s stock.

EZCORP Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EZPW opened at $25.80 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.69, a current ratio of 6.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. EZCORP has a twelve month low of $12.85 and a twelve month high of $27.30. The company has a fifty day moving average of $23.72 and a 200-day moving average of $20.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.54 and a beta of 0.49.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $374.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $363.63 million. EZCORP had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 12.37%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that EZCORP will post 1.3 EPS for the current year.

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.