EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) Trading Down 7.6% Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) traded down 7.6% on Wednesday after Zacks Research downgraded the stock from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating. The company traded as low as $32.88 and last traded at $32.74. 714,415 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 21% from the average daily volume of 906,841 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.44.

EZPW has been the subject of several other reports. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $44.00 price target on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on EZCORP from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Monday. Citizens Jmp raised their price target on EZCORP from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th. One equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other EZCORP news, Director Jason A. Kulas sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,804,134.88. This trade represents a 10.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Pablo Lagos Espinosa sold 10,000 shares of EZCORP stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.54, for a total value of $355,400.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 207,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,376,078.22. The trade was a 4.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 40,000 shares of company stock worth $1,346,600. 2.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EZCORP

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EZPW. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of EZCORP during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. City Center Advisors LLC purchased a new position in EZCORP in the 2nd quarter valued at about $214,000. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in EZCORP by 38.6% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 70,725 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,795,000 after buying an additional 19,708 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in EZCORP by 50.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 457,861 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $11,621,000 after buying an additional 153,770 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in EZCORP in the 1st quarter worth about $247,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.83% of the company’s stock.

EZCORP Trading Up 0.4%

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.57. 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 company has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion, a PE ratio of 18.58 and a beta of 0.64.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The credit services provider reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $434.90 million for the quarter. EZCORP had a net margin of 9.91% and a return on equity of 13.45%. Analysts anticipate that EZCORP, Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

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.