EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) Trading Down 8.1% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) were down 8.1% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $30.44 and last traded at $29.9160. Approximately 390,591 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 57% from the average session volume of 902,496 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.56.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on EZPW. Wall Street Zen downgraded EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. Zacks Research lowered shares of EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $44.00 target price on shares of EZCORP in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of EZCORP from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, EZCORP has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.80.

EZCORP Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 4.71, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a 50 day moving average of $32.66 and a 200-day moving average of $28.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.37 and a beta of 0.64.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The credit services provider reported $0.58 earnings per share 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 return on equity of 13.45% and a net margin of 9.91%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that EZCORP, Inc. will post 2 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at EZCORP

In other EZCORP news, Director Jason A. Kulas sold 20,000 shares of EZCORP stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.56, for a total value of $671,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 172,948 shares in the company, valued at $5,804,134.88. The trade was a 10.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Pablo Lagos Espinosa sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.54, for a total transaction of $355,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 207,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,376,078.22. This represents a 4.60% decrease in their position. 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 40,000 shares of company stock worth $1,346,600. 2.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EZCORP

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of EZCORP by 163.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 483,211 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,200,000 after acquiring an additional 299,920 shares during the last quarter. L & S Advisors Inc bought a new stake in EZCORP during the 4th quarter worth $1,939,000. UBS Group AG grew its position in EZCORP by 45.4% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 579,433 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $11,253,000 after acquiring an additional 181,031 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in 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 worth $61,518,000 after purchasing an additional 1,019,622 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FJ Capital Management LLC bought a new position in EZCORP in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,593,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.83% of the company’s stock.

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.