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

Shares of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $38.80.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on EZPW shares. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on EZCORP from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Zacks Research downgraded EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of EZCORP in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other EZCORP news, Director Pablo Lagos Espinosa sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.54, for a total transaction of $355,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 207,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,376,078.22. This trade represents a 4.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jason A. Kulas sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 172,948 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,804,134.88. This trade represents a 10.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 40,000 shares of company stock worth $1,346,600. Insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of EZCORP

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in EZCORP in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of EZCORP during the second quarter worth about $31,000. KBC Group NV purchased a new stake in shares of EZCORP during the first quarter worth about $44,000. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in shares of EZCORP by 533.5% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,667 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 2,246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in shares of EZCORP by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,146 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.83% of the company’s stock.

EZCORP Price Performance

Shares of EZPW opened at $34.07 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 4.71 and a quick ratio of 3.52. EZCORP has a 1-year low of $13.07 and a 1-year high of $37.13. The stock has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a PE ratio of 18.52 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $32.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.67.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The credit services provider reported $0.58 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $434.90 million during the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that EZCORP will post 2 EPS for the current year.

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.