EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $29.63 and last traded at $29.61, with a volume of 720274 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $28.69.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on EZPW. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of EZCORP from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Citizens Jmp upped their target price on shares of EZCORP from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of EZCORP from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Stephens upped their target price on shares of EZCORP from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.50.

EZCORP Stock Up 3.2%

The company has a quick ratio of 4.69, a current ratio of 6.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.83 billion, a PE ratio of 18.98 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $25.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.69.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $363.63 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that EZCORP, Inc. will post 1.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at EZCORP

In other EZCORP news, Director Gary Tillett sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.50, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 133,483 shares in the company, valued at $3,403,816.50. This represents a 6.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CRO Nicole Swies sold 24,138 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total transaction of $597,415.50. Following the transaction, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 84,138 shares of company stock valued at $2,102,416. 2.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in EZCORP by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,610,029 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $68,735,000 after acquiring an additional 369,817 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in EZCORP by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,563,724 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $69,209,000 after acquiring an additional 84,566 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in EZCORP by 47.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,167,748 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $61,518,000 after acquiring an additional 1,019,622 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 5.4% during the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,321,138 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,217,000 after purchasing an additional 118,641 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 28.5% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,975,421 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $37,612,000 after purchasing an additional 437,601 shares during the period. 99.83% of the stock is currently 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.