EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) Stock Now Rated “Moderate Buy” by Sell-Side Analysts

Shares of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $39.00.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on EZPW shares. Weiss Ratings cut shares of EZCORP from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of EZCORP from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of EZCORP from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ellen Bryant sold 30,000 shares of EZCORP stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.77, for a total value of $1,043,100.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 117,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,095,419.22. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 2.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of EZCORP

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EZPW. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. acquired a new position in EZCORP during the third quarter worth $2,118,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in EZCORP by 546.4% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,183 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Elevated Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in EZCORP by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Elevated Financial Group LLC now owns 28,790 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $857,000 after buying an additional 2,262 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of EZCORP by 178.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 696,826 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $20,738,000 after acquiring an additional 446,343 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of EZCORP by 4,125.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 1,521 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 1,485 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.83% of the company’s stock.

EZCORP Stock Up 0.9%

NASDAQ:EZPW opened at $33.05 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a PE ratio of 16.69 and a beta of 0.71. EZCORP has a twelve month low of $16.50 and a twelve month high of $37.13. The company has a current ratio of 4.81, a quick ratio of 3.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The company’s 50 day moving average is $31.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.58.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The credit services provider reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $408.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $425.83 million. EZCORP had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 9.97%. Analysts anticipate that EZCORP will post 2.00 EPS for the current year.

EZCORP Company Profile

EZCORP, Inc is a financial services and retail company that provides pawn loans and sells pre-owned merchandise. Through its pawn stores, the company offers short-term, collateral-based loans secured by personal property such as jewelry, electronics, tools and other consumer goods.

In addition to lending, EZCORP purchases and resells previously owned merchandise, giving customers access to used jewelry, electronics, tools, sporting goods and other products. Its retail operations also support the company’s pawn-lending model by providing a sales channel for collateral that is not redeemed.

EZCORP serves customers through stores operating under brands that include EZPAWN and Value Pawn in the United States, as well as related brands in Latin American markets.