EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) Stock Price Target Cut by Canaccord Genuity Group

Key Points

• Canaccord Genuity lowered its EZCORP price target from $45 to $44 but maintained a Buy rating; the new target implies 62.66% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: six analysts rate the stock Buy and two Hold, giving EZCORP a consensus Moderate Buy rating and an average price target of $38.80.
• EZCORP reported quarterly earnings of $0.43 per share, slightly above the $0.42 estimate, while revenue of $447.06 million also beat expectations.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW - Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by research analysts at Canaccord Genuity Group from $45.00 to $44.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the credit services provider's stock. Canaccord Genuity Group's price target indicates a potential upside of 62.66% from the company's previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on EZPW. Wall Street Zen cut EZCORP from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings raised EZCORP from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "market outperform" rating on shares of EZCORP in a report on Thursday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $38.80.

EZCORP Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EZPW opened at $27.05 on Friday. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $16.50 and a fifty-two week high of $37.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.66 billion, a PE ratio of 13.94 and a beta of 0.76. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $30.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.83.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 11th. The credit services provider reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $447.06 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $427.57 million. EZCORP had a return on equity of 14.33% and a net margin of 9.77%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that EZCORP will post 2.20 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other EZCORP news, insider Ellen Bryant sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.77, for a total transaction of $1,043,100.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 2.13% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EZCORP

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Americana Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 47,705 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,420,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares during the period. Trek Financial LLC raised its holdings in EZCORP by 1.6% during the third quarter. Trek Financial LLC now owns 26,719 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $795,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp raised its holdings in EZCORP by 3.9% during the first quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 13,707 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management boosted its position in EZCORP by 4.7% during the second quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 14,324 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in EZCORP during the second quarter worth $31,000. 99.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About EZCORP

EZCORP, Inc. operates pawnshops that provide short-term loans secured by customers' personal property and sell pre-owned merchandise. Its stores offer customers access to pawn loans and a way to buy or sell goods. Products commonly include jewelry, electronics, tools and musical instruments. The company operates under brands including EZPAWN and serves customers in the United States and parts of Latin America. Founded in 1989, EZCORP is headquartered in Austin, Texas. Its business focuses on pawn lending and the retail sale of secondhand goods.

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