EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

EZPW has been the topic of a number of other reports. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $34.00 target price on EZCORP in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Stephens boosted their price objective on EZCORP from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Citizens Jmp increased their target price on shares of EZCORP from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of EZCORP in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, EZCORP has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.00.

EZCORP Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EZPW opened at $25.63 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.37, a current ratio of 6.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.56 billion, a PE ratio of 16.43 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $20.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.44. EZCORP has a twelve month low of $12.44 and a twelve month high of $25.77.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last announced its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $374.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $363.63 million. EZCORP had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 12.37%. Equities research analysts expect that EZCORP will post 1.3 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EZCORP

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Requisite Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in EZCORP by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC now owns 173,582 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,371,000 after acquiring an additional 1,387 shares during the last quarter. L & S Advisors Inc purchased a new position in shares of EZCORP during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,939,000. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 31.3% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 24,562 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $477,000 after purchasing an additional 5,862 shares during the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of EZCORP in the fourth quarter worth about $206,000. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC bought a new position in EZCORP during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $231,000. 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.