Brokerages Set EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) Target Price at $27.00

Shares of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $28.00.

EZPW has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stephens increased their price target on EZCORP from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of EZCORP in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of EZCORP in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of EZCORP from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CRO Nicole Swies sold 24,138 shares of EZCORP stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total value of $597,415.50. Following the sale, the executive owned 115,266 shares in the company, valued at $2,852,833.50. This trade represents a 17.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gary Tillett sold 10,000 shares of EZCORP stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total value of $250,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 143,483 shares in the company, valued at $3,587,075. This represents a 6.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 54,138 shares of company stock worth $1,347,416. Company insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EZCORP

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its stake in EZCORP by 398.4% during the second quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 68,293 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $948,000 after buying an additional 54,590 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of EZCORP in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $168,000. Amitell Capital Pte Ltd purchased a new position in shares of EZCORP during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,668,000. Fourth Sail Capital LP boosted its position in shares of EZCORP by 30.7% during the 2nd quarter. Fourth Sail Capital LP now owns 1,251,362 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,369,000 after purchasing an additional 294,100 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in EZCORP by 43.7% in the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 160,683 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,230,000 after purchasing an additional 48,831 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.83% of the company’s stock.

EZCORP Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EZPW opened at $25.27 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.10. The stock has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 6.03, a quick ratio of 4.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. EZCORP has a 12 month low of $12.85 and a 12 month high of $26.35.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.15. EZCORP had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 12.37%. The firm had revenue of $374.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $363.63 million. As a group, analysts predict that EZCORP will post 1.3 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.