EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) Rating Lowered to Buy at Wall Street Zen

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on EZPW. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of EZCORP from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Zacks Research cut shares of EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Citizens Jmp upped their price target on shares of EZCORP from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. One research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, EZCORP currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.80.

EZCORP Stock Performance

EZCORP stock opened at $27.90 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.45, a current ratio of 4.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. EZCORP has a 52 week low of $15.22 and a 52 week high of $37.13. The company has a market capitalization of $1.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.09 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $31.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.09.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The credit services provider reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.06. EZCORP had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 9.97%.The firm had revenue of $408.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $425.83 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that EZCORP will post 2 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at EZCORP

In other EZCORP news, Director Pablo Lagos Espinosa sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.54, for a total value of $355,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 207,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,376,078.22. The trade was a 4.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.56, for a total transaction of $671,200.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 172,948 shares in the company, valued at $5,804,134.88. The trade was a 10.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 40,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,346,600. 2.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of EZCORP

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EZPW. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,019,622 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its holdings in EZCORP by 70.2% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,063,677 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $14,764,000 after purchasing an additional 438,542 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 437,601 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of EZCORP by 89.2% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 785,131 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $15,247,000 after buying an additional 370,103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Penn Capital Management Company LLC increased its position in shares of EZCORP by 233.0% in the fourth quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 495,962 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,639,000 after buying an additional 347,021 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.