EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) has earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the seven research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $37.25.

EZPW has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded EZCORP from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of EZCORP in a report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen raised EZCORP from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of EZCORP in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Citizens Jmp boosted their target price on EZCORP from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th.

EZCORP Stock Up 1.0%

EZPW opened at $33.79 on Friday. EZCORP has a 12 month low of $12.85 and a 12 month high of $37.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 4.71 and a quick ratio of 3.52. The stock has a market cap of $2.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.36 and a beta of 0.65. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $29.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.27.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The credit services provider reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.22. EZCORP had a return on equity of 13.45% and a net margin of 9.91%.The firm had revenue of $434.90 million for the quarter. As a group, research analysts predict that EZCORP will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at EZCORP

In related news, Director Gary Tillett sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director owned 133,483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,403,816.50. The trade was a 6.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jason A. Kulas sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.56, for a total value of $671,200.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 172,948 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,804,134.88. The trade was a 10.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EZCORP

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EZPW. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP grew its position in EZCORP by 39.5% in the third quarter. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP now owns 138,505 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,637,000 after buying an additional 39,195 shares during the last quarter. Miller Global Investments LLC acquired a new position in EZCORP in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,451,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in EZCORP by 163.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 483,211 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,200,000 after buying an additional 299,920 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in EZCORP in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,207,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in EZCORP by 11.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,610,029 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $68,735,000 after buying an additional 369,817 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.83% of the company’s stock.

About EZCORP

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.