World Acceptance (NASDAQ:WRLD) Lowered to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of World Acceptance (NASDAQ:WRLD) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Friday morning.

World Acceptance Trading Down 1.5 %

NASDAQ WRLD opened at $138.14 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $127.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $131.49. The stock has a market cap of $806.74 million, a P/E ratio of 10.42 and a beta of 1.38. World Acceptance has a 12-month low of $94.57 and a 12-month high of $160.07. The company has a current ratio of 15.98, a quick ratio of 15.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

World Acceptance (NASDAQ:WRLD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The credit services provider reported $6.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.35 by $1.74. The business had revenue of $159.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $149.00 million. World Acceptance had a net margin of 13.49% and a return on equity of 18.88%. On average, analysts forecast that World Acceptance will post 13.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WRLD. Quadrature Capital Ltd raised its holdings in shares of World Acceptance by 89.5% during the first quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 23,869 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,455,000 after purchasing an additional 11,275 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of World Acceptance by 47.8% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 18,918 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,743,000 after purchasing an additional 6,116 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of World Acceptance during the fourth quarter worth $690,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of World Acceptance during the first quarter worth $727,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of World Acceptance by 110.6% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,845 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $893,000 after purchasing an additional 3,595 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.63% of the company’s stock.

World Acceptance Company Profile

World Acceptance Corporation engages in consumer finance business in the United States. The company offers short-term small installment loans, medium-term larger installment loans, related credit insurance, and ancillary products and services to individuals. It also provides income tax return preparation and filing services; and automobile club memberships.