EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Canaccord Genuity Group Analyst Says

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) had its price target raised by research analysts at Canaccord Genuity Group from $34.00 to $40.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Canaccord Genuity Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 48.13% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of EZCORP in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of EZCORP from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Stephens raised their target price on shares of EZCORP from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of EZCORP from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of EZCORP in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.50.

EZCORP Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EZPW traded up $0.42 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $27.00. The company had a trading volume of 151,651 shares, compared to its average volume of 919,082. The company has a quick ratio of 4.69, a current ratio of 6.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. EZCORP has a twelve month low of $12.85 and a twelve month high of $27.40. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.30 and a beta of 0.52.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gary Tillett sold 10,000 shares of EZCORP stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.50, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 133,483 shares in the company, valued at $3,403,816.50. The trade was a 6.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CRO Nicole Swies sold 24,138 shares of EZCORP stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total transaction of $597,415.50. Following the sale, the executive owned 115,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,852,833.50. This trade represents a 17.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 84,138 shares of company stock valued at $2,102,416. 2.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EZCORP

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EZPW. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 23.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 19,375 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $286,000 after buying an additional 3,705 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of EZCORP during the first quarter worth about $1,646,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 47.9% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 183,291 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,544,000 after buying an additional 59,339 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in EZCORP by 0.9% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 73,064 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,014,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in EZCORP in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,718,000. 99.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.