EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.06 EPS

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The credit services provider reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.06, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $408.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $425.83 million. EZCORP had a return on equity of 14.28% and a net margin of 9.97%.

EZCORP Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:EZPW opened at $29.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a current ratio of 4.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.74 and a beta of 0.66. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.04. EZCORP has a 52-week low of $15.12 and a 52-week high of $37.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jason A. Kulas sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.56, for a total value of $671,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 172,948 shares in the company, valued at $5,804,134.88. This represents a 10.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Pablo Lagos Espinosa sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $7,376,078.22. This represents a 4.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 40,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,346,600. 2.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in EZCORP by 23.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 19,375 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 3,705 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of EZCORP during the 1st quarter valued at $1,646,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of EZCORP by 47.9% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 183,291 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,544,000 after buying an additional 59,339 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in shares of EZCORP by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 73,064 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,014,000 after buying an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in EZCORP in the 2nd quarter worth $1,718,000. 99.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EZPW has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citizens Jmp boosted their price objective on shares of EZCORP from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of EZCORP in a report on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research cut shares of EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of EZCORP from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, EZCORP presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.80.

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.