Wall Street Zen Upgrades EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) to “Strong-Buy”

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. JMP Securities set a $23.00 price objective on shares of EZCORP in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Citizens Jmp boosted their price target on shares of EZCORP from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $34.00 price objective on EZCORP in a report on Friday. Finally, Stephens boosted their target price on EZCORP from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $27.00.

EZCORP Trading Up 11.7%

Shares of EZPW opened at $25.63 on Friday. EZCORP has a 1-year low of $12.44 and a 1-year high of $25.77. The company has a market capitalization of $1.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.43 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 6.03 and a quick ratio of 4.69. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.47.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.15. EZCORP had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 12.37%. The company had revenue of $374.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $363.63 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that EZCORP will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in EZCORP in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of EZCORP during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in EZCORP by 239.3% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,728 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 1,924 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in EZCORP by 15,019.0% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,175 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 3,154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in EZCORP by 126.3% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,422 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,910 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.