EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $21.99 and last traded at $21.9250, with a volume of 341020 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.37.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on EZPW. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of EZCORP from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of EZCORP in a report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.17.

EZCORP Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.54 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 5.61 and a quick ratio of 4.37.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The credit services provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $335.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $325.09 million. EZCORP had a return on equity of 12.00% and a net margin of 8.60%. Research analysts forecast that EZCORP, Inc. will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EZCORP

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of EZCORP during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in EZCORP in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of EZCORP by 239.3% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,728 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 1,924 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 15,019.0% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,175 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 3,154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in shares of EZCORP by 126.3% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,422 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,910 shares during the period. 99.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.