World Acceptance (NASDAQ:WRLD) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

World Acceptance (NASDAQ:WRLD) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of World Acceptance in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, World Acceptance has an average rating of “Hold”.

World Acceptance Stock Up 4.6%

Shares of World Acceptance stock opened at $188.10 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $876.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.23 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 13.49 and a quick ratio of 22.99. World Acceptance has a 52-week low of $110.00 and a 52-week high of $227.68. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $186.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.72.

World Acceptance (NASDAQ:WRLD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $1.54. The business had revenue of $139.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $143.90 million. World Acceptance had a return on equity of 12.13% and a net margin of 6.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at World Acceptance

In other World Acceptance news, Director Charles D. Way sold 833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $187,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 12,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,864,025. The trade was a 6.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Alice Lindsay Caulder sold 609 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total transaction of $110,229.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 14,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,657,442. This represents a 3.98% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 7,396 shares of company stock worth $1,493,090 in the last quarter. 38.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On World Acceptance

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. SageGuard Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in World Acceptance in the 4th quarter worth $528,000. CX Institutional raised its position in shares of World Acceptance by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 41,097 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,770,000 after buying an additional 4,098 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in shares of World Acceptance in the first quarter valued at about $680,000. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its position in World Acceptance by 33.7% during the first quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 9,153 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,236,000 after buying an additional 2,306 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in World Acceptance by 7,253.3% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,206 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176 shares during the period. 83.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About World Acceptance

World Acceptance Corporation (NASDAQ: WRLD) is a consumer finance company headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina. Founded in 1972, the company provides credit solutions to underserved customers who may have limited access to traditional banking services. Over the decades, World Acceptance has built a reputation for tailored lending that emphasizes responsible underwriting and personalized customer service.

The company’s core product offerings include short-term installment loans designed to meet the immediate financial needs of its clients.