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

Shares of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW – Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $38.80.

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on EZCORP from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered EZCORP from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th.

Read Our Latest Analysis on EZCORP

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Pablo Espinosa sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.54, for a total value of $355,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 207,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,376,078.22. This represents a 4.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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. Also, insider Ellen H. Bryant sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 117,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,095,419.22. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EZCORP

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EZPW. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of EZCORP by 47.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,019,622 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in EZCORP by 89.2% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 785,131 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $15,247,000 after buying an additional 370,103 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in EZCORP by 50.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 457,861 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $11,621,000 after buying an additional 153,770 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of EZCORP by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 282,923 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,181,000 after acquiring an additional 9,363 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in shares of EZCORP by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 193,627 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,914,000 after acquiring an additional 18,943 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.83% of the company’s stock.

EZCORP Stock Performance

Shares of EZPW stock opened at $30.20 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.81, a quick ratio of 3.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The company has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a PE ratio of 15.25 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.00. EZCORP has a 52 week low of $16.50 and a 52 week high of $37.13.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The credit services provider reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.06. EZCORP had a net margin of 9.97% and a return on equity of 13.99%. The firm had revenue of $408.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $425.83 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that EZCORP will post 2 EPS for the current year.

About EZCORP

(Get Free Report)

EZCORP, Inc is a financial services and retail company that operates pawn stores under brands including EZPAWN, Value Pawn and other regional names. Its stores provide short-term, collateral-based pawn loans to consumers who pledge personal property as security. Customers can generally reclaim pledged items by repaying the loan and applicable fees within the agreed term.

In addition to pawn lending, EZCORP generates revenue by selling pre-owned merchandise that has been forfeited or acquired through its stores.

Featured Stories

Analyst Recommendations for EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW)

Receive News & Ratings for EZCORP Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for EZCORP and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.