EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

EZPW has been the subject of several other research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of EZCORP from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Stephens upped their price target on shares of EZCORP from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Citizens Jmp upped their price target on shares of EZCORP from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.50.

EZCORP Trading Up 1.3%

EZPW stock opened at $28.03 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.44. The company has a quick ratio of 4.69, a current ratio of 6.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. EZCORP has a 52-week low of $12.85 and a 52-week high of $28.90. The firm has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.97 and a beta of 0.52.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.15. EZCORP had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 12.37%. The business had revenue of $374.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $363.63 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that EZCORP will post 1.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at EZCORP

In other EZCORP news, CRO Nicole Swies sold 24,138 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive owned 115,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,852,833.50. This represents a 17.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Pablo Lagos Espinosa sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 208,177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,204,425. The trade was a 8.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 84,138 shares of company stock worth $2,102,416 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of EZCORP

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in EZCORP by 11.4% in 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 increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $69,209,000 after buying an additional 84,566 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $61,518,000 after buying an additional 1,019,622 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,321,138 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,217,000 after buying an additional 118,641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 28.5% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,975,421 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $37,612,000 after buying an additional 437,601 shares during the last quarter. 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.