EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) Receives $20.50 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $20.50.

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citizens Jmp started coverage on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. They issued a “market outperform” rating and a $23.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on EZCORP from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of EZCORP in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, JMP Securities set a $23.00 price target on EZCORP in a research report on Monday, November 3rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EZCORP

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in EZCORP by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 60,614 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $901,000 after acquiring an additional 3,792 shares in the last quarter. Almanack Investment Partners LLC. bought a new stake in shares of EZCORP in the 2nd quarter worth $476,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its stake in shares of EZCORP by 398.4% in the second quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 68,293 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $948,000 after purchasing an additional 54,590 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of EZCORP in the second quarter worth $168,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 21.8% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,455,869 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $21,430,000 after purchasing an additional 260,085 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.83% of the company’s stock.

EZCORP Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EZPW opened at $19.84 on Thursday. EZCORP has a twelve month low of $11.60 and a twelve month high of $21.49. The company has a current ratio of 5.61, a quick ratio of 4.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $18.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.84. The company has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.07 and a beta of 0.52.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 13th. The credit services provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.05. EZCORP had a net margin of 8.60% and a return on equity of 12.00%. The company had revenue of $335.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $325.09 million. As a group, analysts expect that EZCORP will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.