EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

EZPW has been the topic of a number of other reports. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of EZCORP from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Citizens Jmp increased their price objective on shares of EZCORP from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of EZCORP from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of EZCORP in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of EZCORP in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.50.

EZCORP Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:EZPW opened at $28.03 on Tuesday. EZCORP has a 52 week low of $12.85 and a 52 week high of $28.90. The company’s 50 day moving average is $25.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.44. 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 company has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a PE ratio of 17.97 and a beta of 0.52.

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 company had revenue of $374.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $363.63 million. Equities analysts predict that EZCORP will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at EZCORP

In related news, Director Pablo Lagos Espinosa sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 208,177 shares in the company, valued at $5,204,425. This represents a 8.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ellen H. Bryant sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $500,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 147,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,694,650. This represents a 11.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 84,138 shares of company stock worth $2,102,416 in the last quarter. 2.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of EZCORP

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in EZCORP by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,610,029 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $68,735,000 after purchasing an additional 369,817 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in EZCORP by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,563,724 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $69,209,000 after purchasing an additional 84,566 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in EZCORP by 47.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,019,622 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its position in EZCORP by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,321,138 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,217,000 after buying an additional 118,641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its position in EZCORP by 28.5% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,975,421 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $37,612,000 after buying an additional 437,601 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.83% of the company’s stock.

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.