EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $26.35 and last traded at $25.9350, with a volume of 67949 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.63.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on EZPW. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of EZCORP from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of EZCORP in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. JMP Securities set a $23.00 price target on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $34.00 price objective on EZCORP in a research note on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.00.

EZCORP Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 6.03 and a quick ratio of 4.69. The firm has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.39 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a fifty day moving average of $20.85 and a 200-day moving average of $18.47.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $363.63 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that EZCORP, Inc. will post 1.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of EZCORP by 27.7% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,148,126 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $40,900,000 after acquiring an additional 465,462 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of EZCORP by 28.5% during the 3rd 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. Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in EZCORP during the 2nd quarter worth about $5,939,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.