EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $27.33 and last traded at $27.1850, with a volume of 640969 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $26.02.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on EZPW. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of EZCORP in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $34.00 target price on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of EZCORP from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Citizens Jmp raised their price target on EZCORP from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, EZCORP currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.00.

EZCORP Trading Up 4.4%

The company has a current ratio of 6.03, a quick ratio of 4.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.41 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $24.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.09.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.15. EZCORP had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 12.37%. The business had revenue of $374.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $363.63 million. As a group, analysts forecast that EZCORP, Inc. will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at EZCORP

In other news, insider Ellen H. Bryant sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 147,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,694,650. This trade represents a 11.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CRO Nicole Swies sold 24,138 shares of EZCORP stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total transaction of $597,415.50. Following the sale, the executive owned 115,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,852,833.50. This trade represents a 17.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 84,138 shares of company stock valued at $2,102,416 in the last ninety days. 2.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EZPW. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,167,748 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $61,518,000 after buying an additional 1,019,622 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its stake in EZCORP by 70.2% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,063,677 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $14,764,000 after buying an additional 438,542 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in EZCORP by 28.5% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,975,421 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $37,612,000 after acquiring an additional 437,601 shares during the period. Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in EZCORP during the second quarter worth $5,939,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in EZCORP by 89.2% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 785,131 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $15,247,000 after acquiring an additional 370,103 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.83% of the company’s stock.

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.