Zacks Research Upgrades EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) to “Strong-Buy”

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of EZCORP in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. JMP Securities set a $23.00 target price on EZCORP in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $34.00 price target on EZCORP in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded EZCORP from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Stephens raised their target price on shares of EZCORP from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.00.

EZCORP Trading Down 0.4%

EZPW stock traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $24.65. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 402,044 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,003,738. EZCORP has a 1 year low of $12.85 and a 1 year high of $26.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.80 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 4.69 and a current ratio of 6.03.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $374.50 million for 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that EZCORP will post 1.3 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,019,622 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its stake 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 worth $14,764,000 after purchasing an additional 438,542 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of EZCORP by 28.5% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,975,421 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $37,612,000 after purchasing an additional 437,601 shares during the last quarter. Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in EZCORP in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,939,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in EZCORP by 89.2% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 785,131 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $15,247,000 after buying an additional 370,103 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.