EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) Shares Down 8.4% – What’s Next?

EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) shares were down 8.4% during trading on Thursday. The company traded as low as $29.57 and last traded at $30.4070. 458,158 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 49% from the average session volume of 891,093 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.20.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Zacks Research cut EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of EZCORP from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of EZCORP from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of EZCORP from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, EZCORP has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.00.

EZCORP Trading Down 11.6%

The company has a current ratio of 4.81, a quick ratio of 3.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.62. The stock has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.82 and a beta of 0.71.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The credit services provider reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $408.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $425.83 million. EZCORP had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 9.97%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that EZCORP, Inc. will post 2.00 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at EZCORP

In related news, insider Ellen Bryant sold 30,000 shares of EZCORP stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.77, for a total value of $1,043,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 117,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,095,419.22. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in EZCORP by 178.2% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 696,826 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $20,738,000 after acquiring an additional 446,343 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of EZCORP by 50.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 457,861 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $11,621,000 after purchasing an additional 153,770 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of EZCORP by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 282,923 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,181,000 after purchasing an additional 9,363 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in shares of EZCORP by 10.8% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 193,627 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,914,000 after purchasing an additional 18,943 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of EZCORP by 634.5% during the first quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC now owns 189,239 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,803,000 after purchasing an additional 163,476 shares during the last quarter. 99.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

EZCORP Company Profile

EZCORP, Inc is a financial services and retail company that provides pawn loans and sells pre-owned merchandise. Through its pawn stores, the company offers short-term, collateral-based loans secured by personal property such as jewelry, electronics, tools and other consumer goods.

In addition to lending, EZCORP purchases and resells previously owned merchandise, giving customers access to used jewelry, electronics, tools, sporting goods and other products. Its retail operations also support the company’s pawn-lending model by providing a sales channel for collateral that is not redeemed.

EZCORP serves customers through stores operating under brands that include EZPAWN and Value Pawn in the United States, as well as related brands in Latin American markets.