EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Saturday morning.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on EZCORP in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on EZCORP from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Roth Mkm initiated coverage on EZCORP in a research report on Monday, March 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $16.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Roth Capital set a $16.00 target price on EZCORP in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $18.25.

EZCORP Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of EZCORP stock opened at $13.32 on Friday. EZCORP has a fifty-two week low of $9.66 and a fifty-two week high of $16.60. The firm has a market cap of $732.79 million, a PE ratio of 11.58 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s fifty day moving average is $14.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.60. The company has a quick ratio of 2.13, a current ratio of 2.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The credit services provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.02. EZCORP had a return on equity of 11.04% and a net margin of 7.25%. The company had revenue of $306.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $310.35 million. Analysts anticipate that EZCORP will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO John Blair Jr. Powell sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.26, for a total value of $132,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 149,483 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,982,144.58. This represents a 6.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 86,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,220,010. 2.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of EZCORP

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in EZCORP by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,263,712 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $48,042,000 after purchasing an additional 9,968 shares in the last quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC increased its holdings in EZCORP by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 2,002,197 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $24,467,000 after purchasing an additional 310,706 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in EZCORP by 289.7% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,569,488 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $23,499,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166,758 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in EZCORP by 31.0% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,520,830 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $22,387,000 after purchasing an additional 359,543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in EZCORP by 21.8% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,455,869 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $21,430,000 after purchasing an additional 260,085 shares in the last quarter. 99.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About EZCORP

EZCORP, Inc provides pawn services in the United States and Latin America. The company operates through three segments: U.S. Pawn, Latin America Pawn, and Other Investments. The company offers pawn loans collateralized by tangible personal property, jewelry, consumer electronics, tools, sporting goods, and musical instruments.