EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) Shares Down 6.2%

EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW)’s stock price dropped 6.2% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $9.80 and last traded at $10.35. Approximately 454,981 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 16% from the average daily volume of 543,162 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.03.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on EZCORP from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, TheStreet upgraded EZCORP from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th.

EZCORP Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $575.21 million, a PE ratio of 10.03 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 3.08 and a current ratio of 4.17. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.52.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.04. EZCORP had a net margin of 7.05% and a return on equity of 10.55%. The firm had revenue of $285.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $287.59 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that EZCORP, Inc. will post 1.05 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at EZCORP

In other news, CRO Nicole Swies sold 2,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.38, for a total transaction of $25,605.00. Following the transaction, the executive now directly owns 71,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $813,192.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EZCORP

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of EZCORP by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,313,154 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $37,697,000 after buying an additional 17,975 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its stake in EZCORP by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,593,128 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $29,380,000 after acquiring an additional 60,329 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its holdings in EZCORP by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 2,510,414 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $21,941,000 after acquiring an additional 118,599 shares in the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. raised its position in EZCORP by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 1,118,450 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,775,000 after acquiring an additional 110,650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 48.0% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,011,204 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $11,457,000 after purchasing an additional 327,912 shares in the last quarter. 99.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

EZCORP Company Profile

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.