EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) Given “Buy” Rating at Roth Capital

Roth Capital reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) in a research report report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Roth Capital currently has a $40.00 price objective on the credit services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on EZPW. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on shares of EZCORP from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of EZCORP from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, EZCORP has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.83.

EZCORP Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of EZPW traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $27.55. 1,550,889 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 871,249. The firm has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.31 and a beta of 0.76. EZCORP has a 12-month low of $16.50 and a 12-month high of $37.13. The company has a current ratio of 4.54, a quick ratio of 3.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $30.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.86.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 11th. The credit services provider reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $447.06 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $427.57 million. EZCORP had a net margin of 9.77% and a return on equity of 14.12%. Sell-side analysts forecast that EZCORP will post 2.20 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at EZCORP

In other news, insider Ellen Bryant sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.77, for a total transaction of $1,043,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 117,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,095,419.22. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EZPW. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in EZCORP in the third quarter worth about $468,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in EZCORP by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 449,452 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $13,376,000 after acquiring an additional 31,828 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its holdings in EZCORP by 230.5% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 621,905 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $18,511,000 after acquiring an additional 433,759 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its holdings in EZCORP by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 34,712 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,033,000 after acquiring an additional 2,054 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC grew its holdings in EZCORP by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,083,289 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,239,000 after acquiring an additional 44,433 shares in the last quarter. 99.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key EZCORP News

Here’s some of the latest news about EZPW:

• Neutral Sentiment: EZPAWN expanded its instant-quote offering for gold, electronics and tools ahead of the holidays, a customer-facing initiative that could support seasonal activity, though no sales impact was reported. EZPAWN announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the earnings beat, coverage said shares fell after the results as costs overshadowed the strong quarter. This suggests expense trends may limit how much investors reward the revenue and earnings growth. Earnings reaction
• Negative Sentiment: A newly disclosed risk flags EZCORP’s reliance on AI and machine learning as a potential source of operational, cybersecurity and regulatory exposure. AI-related risk disclosure

EZCORP Company Profile

EZCORP, Inc. operates pawnshops that provide short-term loans secured by customers’ personal property and sell pre-owned merchandise. Its stores offer customers access to pawn loans and a way to buy or sell goods. Products commonly include jewelry, electronics, tools and musical instruments. The company operates under brands including EZPAWN and serves customers in the United States and parts of Latin America. Founded in 1989, EZCORP is headquartered in Austin, Texas. Its business focuses on pawn lending and the retail sale of secondhand goods.