EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPWGet Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $37.25.

EZPW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of EZCORP from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Citizens Jmp lifted their price objective on shares of EZCORP from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Stephens lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Monday, May 11th.

Check Out Our Latest Report on EZCORP

Insider Activity at EZCORP

In other EZCORP news, Director Jason A. Kulas sold 20,000 shares of EZCORP stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.56, for a total transaction of $671,200.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 172,948 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,804,134.88. The trade was a 10.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gary Tillett sold 10,000 shares of EZCORP stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.50, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 133,483 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,403,816.50. The trade was a 6.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EZCORP

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EZPW. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew 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 valued at $69,209,000 after acquiring an additional 84,566 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew 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 valued at $61,518,000 after acquiring an additional 1,019,622 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP grew 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 valued at $32,217,000 after acquiring an additional 118,641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew 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 valued at $37,612,000 after acquiring an additional 437,601 shares in the last quarter. 99.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

EZCORP Trading Up 1.0%

EZCORP stock opened at $33.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a current ratio of 4.71. The firm has a market cap of $2.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.36 and a beta of 0.65. EZCORP has a 1 year low of $12.85 and a 1 year high of $37.13. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $29.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.27.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPWGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The credit services provider reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $434.90 million for the quarter. EZCORP had a net margin of 9.91% and a return on equity of 13.45%. On average, research analysts predict that EZCORP will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About EZCORP

(Get Free Report)

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.

See Also

Analyst Recommendations for EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW)

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