Canaccord Genuity Group Reaffirms "Buy" Rating for EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW)

Key Points

• Canaccord Genuity Group has reaffirmed its strong "Buy" rating for EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) with a target price of $25.00, indicating a potential upside of 76.30%.
• EZCORP recently reported quarterly earnings of $0.33 per share, surpassing expectations of $0.23, with revenues of $310.98 million.
• Insider trading activity includes COO John Blair Jr. Powell selling 42,500 shares at an average price of $14.55, marking a decrease in his equity stake by nearly 18.32%.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Canaccord Genuity Group in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $25.00 price objective on the credit services provider's stock. Canaccord Genuity Group's price target points to a potential upside of 76.30% from the stock's current price.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on EZPW. BTIG Research initiated coverage on EZCORP in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised EZCORP from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $18.50.

EZCORP Price Performance

EZPW stock traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $14.18. The stock had a trading volume of 295,983 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,010,396. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $13.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.94. The company has a current ratio of 4.04, a quick ratio of 3.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $780.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.06 and a beta of 0.52. EZCORP has a 52-week low of $10.56 and a 52-week high of $16.60.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $310.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $302.25 million. EZCORP had a net margin of 7.96% and a return on equity of 12.44%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that EZCORP will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO John Blair Jr. Powell sold 42,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.55, for a total transaction of $618,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 189,483 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,756,977.65. This represents a 18.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 86,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,220,010. Insiders own 2.13% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EZCORP

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in EZCORP by 44.6% in the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 27,287 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 8,413 shares during the period. Ingalls & Snyder LLC raised its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 46.1% during the second quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 16,678 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 5,262 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in EZCORP by 21.2% during the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 88,118 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,223,000 after acquiring an additional 15,391 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd increased its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 35.2% during the second quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 31,055 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 8,085 shares during the period. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in EZCORP by 154.9% in the 2nd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 66,144 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $918,000 after buying an additional 40,190 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.83% of the company's stock.

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.

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