EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) Shares Up 2.9% After Analyst Upgrade

EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) traded up 2.9% during trading on Tuesday after Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on the stock from $17.00 to $18.00. Canaccord Genuity Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. EZCORP traded as high as $11.16 and last traded at $11.13. 99,792 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 531,767 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.82.

EZPW has been the subject of several other research reports. StockNews.com lowered EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 29th. TheStreet raised shares of EZCORP from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th.

Insider Transactions at EZCORP

In related news, CRO Nicole Swies sold 2,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.38, for a total transaction of $25,605.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now owns 71,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $813,192.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EZCORP

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in EZCORP by 25.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 710,295 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,860,000 after purchasing an additional 144,641 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in shares of EZCORP by 149.0% in the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 56,325 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $462,000 after buying an additional 33,701 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 40.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 100,413 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $829,000 after buying an additional 29,050 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of EZCORP by 28.0% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 664,019 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,478,000 after acquiring an additional 145,068 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new position in EZCORP in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $90,000. 99.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

EZCORP Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $609.96 million, a PE ratio of 17.56 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 4.00, a quick ratio of 3.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The business’s fifty day moving average is $10.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.29.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $299.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $303.66 million. EZCORP had a return on equity of 10.37% and a net margin of 4.62%. Equities research analysts predict that EZCORP, Inc. will post 1.05 earnings per share for the current year.

EZCORP Company Profile

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.