EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) Shares Climb 4% – Still a Buy?

EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) rose 4% on Monday. The company traded as high as $33.24 and last traded at $33.2490. Approximately 228,474 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 902,480 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.96.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EZPW has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered EZCORP from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of EZCORP from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.80.

EZCORP Trading Up 3.6%

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.22. The company has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a PE ratio of 16.71 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 3.45 and a current ratio of 4.81.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The credit services provider reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.06. EZCORP had a net margin of 9.97% and a return on equity of 13.99%. The business had revenue of $408.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $425.83 million. Analysts anticipate that EZCORP, Inc. will post 2.00 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Ellen Bryant sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.77, for a total transaction of $1,043,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 117,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,095,419.22. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EZCORP

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of EZCORP in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. KBC Group NV acquired a new position in shares of EZCORP in the first quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 227.8% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,865 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,296 shares in the last quarter. GK Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in EZCORP during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $86,000. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new stake in EZCORP during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $90,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.83% of the company’s stock.

EZCORP Company Profile

EZCORP, Inc is a financial services and retail company that operates pawn stores under brands including EZPAWN, Value Pawn and other regional names. Its stores provide short-term, collateral-based pawn loans to consumers who pledge personal property as security. Customers can generally reclaim pledged items by repaying the loan and applicable fees within the agreed term.

In addition to pawn lending, EZCORP generates revenue by selling pre-owned merchandise that has been forfeited or acquired through its stores.