EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) Lowered to Buy Rating by Wall Street Zen

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on EZPW. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Citizens Jmp initiated coverage on shares of EZCORP in a report on Monday, November 3rd. They issued a “market outperform” rating and a $23.00 target price for the company. JMP Securities set a $23.00 target price on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of EZCORP in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of EZCORP from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.17.

EZCORP Stock Performance

Shares of EZPW opened at $21.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 5.61 and a quick ratio of 4.37. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $19.37 and its 200-day moving average is $17.31. EZCORP has a 12-month low of $11.60 and a 12-month high of $21.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.16 and a beta of 0.55.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The credit services provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $335.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $325.09 million. EZCORP had a net margin of 8.60% and a return on equity of 12.00%. Equities research analysts anticipate that EZCORP will post 1.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of EZCORP

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of EZCORP by 73.3% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 21,759 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $423,000 after buying an additional 9,202 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in EZCORP by 121.5% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 644,120 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $12,509,000 after acquiring an additional 353,327 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in EZCORP in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,207,000. Miller Global Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of EZCORP during the 4th quarter worth $1,451,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of EZCORP by 163.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 483,211 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,200,000 after purchasing an additional 299,920 shares during the last quarter. 99.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.