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

EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $18.25.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EZPW. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Roth Capital set a $16.00 target price on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Monday, March 17th. BTIG Research began coverage on EZCORP in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on EZCORP from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th.

EZCORP Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EZPW opened at $13.41 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $737.74 million, a PE ratio of 11.66 and a beta of 0.53. EZCORP has a 1 year low of $9.66 and a 1 year high of $16.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $14.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.91 and a quick ratio of 2.13.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The credit services provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. EZCORP had a net margin of 7.25% and a return on equity of 11.04%. The company had revenue of $306.32 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $310.35 million. Equities analysts anticipate that EZCORP will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at EZCORP

In related news, COO John Blair Jr. Powell sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.81, for a total value of $48,335.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 145,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,016,025.23. This represents a 2.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold 86,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,220,010 over the last 90 days. 2.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of EZCORP

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Teza Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in EZCORP by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 14,425 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $176,000 after purchasing an additional 896 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in EZCORP by 60.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,062 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 1,906 shares during the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP boosted its stake in EZCORP by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 19,800 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $242,000 after acquiring an additional 2,088 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 16.9% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,874 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 2,725 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of EZCORP by 4.3% during the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 80,099 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,179,000 after purchasing an additional 3,279 shares in the last quarter. 99.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About EZCORP

EZCORP, Inc provides pawn services in the United States and Latin America. The company operates through three segments: U.S. Pawn, Latin America Pawn, and Other Investments. The company offers pawn loans collateralized by tangible personal property, jewelry, consumer electronics, tools, sporting goods, and musical instruments.