EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Hold”

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

EZPW has been the topic of a number of other reports. Piper Sandler set a $39.00 price objective on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Friday. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Thursday. Citizens Jmp set a $39.00 target price on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Thursday. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of EZCORP from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.83.

EZCORP Stock Performance

Shares of EZPW opened at $27.55 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.32 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 3.45, a current ratio of 4.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The business’s 50 day moving average is $30.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.86. EZCORP has a 52-week low of $16.50 and a 52-week high of $37.13.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 11th. The credit services provider reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $447.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $427.57 million. EZCORP had a net margin of 9.77% and a return on equity of 14.12%. Analysts forecast that EZCORP will post 2.20 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other EZCORP news, insider Ellen Bryant sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.77, for a total transaction of $1,043,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 117,786 shares in the company, valued at $4,095,419.22. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 2.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 446,343 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its position in EZCORP by 230.5% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 621,905 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $18,511,000 after acquiring an additional 433,759 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in EZCORP in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,452,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in EZCORP by 50.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 457,861 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $11,621,000 after acquiring an additional 153,770 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp bought a new stake in EZCORP during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,756,000. 99.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Top EZCORP Stories

These are some of the EZPW stories that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: EZCORP reported fourth-quarter earnings of $0.43 per share, ahead of consensus estimates, while revenue also topped expectations. Reports highlighted strong core pawn revenue and record quarterly results. Zacks earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Roth Capital reaffirmed its Buy rating and $40 price target. Canaccord Genuity also kept a Buy rating, with a modest target reduction from $45 to $44; both targets remain well above the cited share price. Roth Capital rating Canaccord Genuity rating
• Negative Sentiment: A newly disclosed risk flags EZCORP’s reliance on AI and machine learning as a potential source of operational, cybersecurity and regulatory exposure. AI-related risk disclosure

About EZCORP

EZCORP, Inc. operates pawnshops that provide short-term loans secured by customers’ personal property and sell pre-owned merchandise. Its stores offer customers access to pawn loans and a way to buy or sell goods. Products commonly include jewelry, electronics, tools and musical instruments. The company operates under brands including EZPAWN and serves customers in the United States and parts of Latin America. Founded in 1989, EZCORP is headquartered in Austin, Texas. Its business focuses on pawn lending and the retail sale of secondhand goods.