EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eight analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $38.80.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on EZPW. Wall Street Zen cut EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded EZCORP from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $44.00 price target on EZCORP in a report on Friday, May 8th.

EZCORP Stock Down 2.1%

EZPW stock opened at $32.32 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $31.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.05. The company has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.32 and a beta of 0.66. EZCORP has a 12-month low of $16.31 and a 12-month high of $37.13. The company has a quick ratio of 3.45, a current ratio of 4.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The credit services provider reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.06. EZCORP had a net margin of 9.97% and a return on equity of 13.99%. The business had revenue of $408.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $425.83 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that EZCORP will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at EZCORP

In other EZCORP news, insider Ellen H. Bryant sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.77, for a total value of $1,043,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 117,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,095,419.22. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Pablo Lagos Espinosa sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.54, for a total transaction of $355,400.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 207,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,376,078.22. This trade represents 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 50,000 shares of company stock worth $1,718,500. Insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EZCORP

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in EZCORP in the second quarter worth $31,000. KBC Group NV bought a new position in EZCORP during the first quarter valued at about $44,000. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in EZCORP by 533.5% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,667 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 2,246 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of EZCORP by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,146 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new stake in shares of EZCORP in the second quarter worth about $90,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.