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

EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $19.44 and last traded at $19.23, with a volume of 142443 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $19.05.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on EZCORP from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of EZCORP in a report on Friday, November 14th. JMP Securities set a $23.00 target price on shares of EZCORP in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Citizens Jmp assumed coverage on shares of EZCORP in a report on Monday, November 3rd. They set a “market outperform” rating and a $23.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.50.

EZCORP Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of 15.13 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 5.00, a current ratio of 6.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $18.26 and its 200 day moving average is $15.91.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The credit services provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.05. EZCORP had a net margin of 7.96% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The company had revenue of $335.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $325.09 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that EZCORP, Inc. will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at EZCORP

In other EZCORP news, Director Matthew W. Appel sold 9,038 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.02, for a total value of $162,864.76. Following the transaction, the director owned 133,371 shares in the company, valued at $2,403,345.42. The trade was a 6.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EZCORP

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EZPW. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in EZCORP by 6.7% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 60,614 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $901,000 after acquiring an additional 3,792 shares in the last quarter. Almanack Investment Partners LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of EZCORP in the 2nd quarter valued at $476,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its holdings in EZCORP by 398.4% in the second quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 68,293 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $948,000 after purchasing an additional 54,590 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. bought a new stake in EZCORP in the second quarter worth $168,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its position in EZCORP by 21.8% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,455,869 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $21,430,000 after buying an additional 260,085 shares during the last quarter. 99.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.