EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) Sets New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) shares hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $26.35 and last traded at $25.9350, with a volume of 67949 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $25.63.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EZPW has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of EZCORP from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Stephens boosted their target price on EZCORP from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of EZCORP in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $34.00 price target on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Friday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.00.

EZCORP Trading Down 0.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 6.03 and a quick ratio of 4.69. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $20.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.39 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Institutional Trading of EZCORP

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EZPW. Almanack Investment Partners LLC. purchased a new position in EZCORP during the second quarter valued at $476,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its stake in shares of EZCORP by 398.4% in the 2nd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 68,293 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $948,000 after acquiring an additional 54,590 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. purchased a new position in EZCORP during the 2nd quarter valued at about $168,000. Amitell Capital Pte Ltd bought a new stake in EZCORP during the second quarter worth about $3,668,000. Finally, Fourth Sail Capital LP boosted its stake in EZCORP by 30.7% during the second quarter. Fourth Sail Capital LP now owns 1,251,362 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,369,000 after acquiring an additional 294,100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.83% of the company’s stock.

EZCORP Company Profile

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.