EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) Share Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $25.24 and traded as high as $32.47. EZCORP shares last traded at $32.15, with a volume of 648,225 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research upgraded EZCORP from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Citizens Jmp upped their price target on EZCORP from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Stephens upped their price target on EZCORP from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded EZCORP from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded EZCORP from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, EZCORP presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.25.

EZCORP Trading Down 0.6%

The company’s 50-day moving average is $30.88 and its 200-day moving average is $25.28. The firm has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.36 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a current ratio of 4.71.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last issued 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 business 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, Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at EZCORP

In related news, Director Jason A. Kulas sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 172,948 shares in the company, valued at $5,804,134.88. This represents a 10.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of EZCORP

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EZPW. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 369,817 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 84,566 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,019,622 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 118,641 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 437,601 shares during the period. 99.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.