EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) Stock Has Average Price Target of $39.00 According to Analysts

Shares of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $39.00.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on EZPW. Weiss Ratings cut shares of EZCORP from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on EZCORP from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Zacks Research cut EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen cut EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on EZCORP from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th.

Insider Activity

In other EZCORP news, insider Ellen Bryant sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.77, for a total transaction of $1,043,100.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 117,786 shares in the company, valued at $4,095,419.22. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of EZCORP

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EZPW. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of EZCORP in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in EZCORP by 546.4% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,183 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in EZCORP by 4,125.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 1,521 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 1,485 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV acquired a new stake in EZCORP during the 1st quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in EZCORP by 227.8% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,865 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 1,296 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.83% of the company’s stock.

EZCORP Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of EZPW opened at $29.55 on Wednesday. EZCORP has a 1-year low of $16.50 and a 1-year high of $37.13. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.39.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The credit services provider reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $408.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $425.83 million. As a group, research analysts expect that EZCORP will post 2.00 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About EZCORP

EZCORP, Inc is a financial services and retail company that provides pawn loans and sells pre-owned merchandise. Through its pawn stores, the company offers short-term, collateral-based loans secured by personal property such as jewelry, electronics, tools and other consumer goods.

In addition to lending, EZCORP purchases and resells previously owned merchandise, giving customers access to used jewelry, electronics, tools, sporting goods and other products. Its retail operations also support the company’s pawn-lending model by providing a sales channel for collateral that is not redeemed.

EZCORP serves customers through stores operating under brands that include EZPAWN and Value Pawn in the United States, as well as related brands in Latin American markets.