EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: EZCORP carries a "Moderate Buy" consensus from eight brokerages with an average 12-month target of $28.00 (five buys, two holds, one strong buy).
• Insider selling: CRO Nicole Swies recently sold 24,138 shares and Director Gary Tillett sold 10,000 shares; insiders sold 84,138 shares worth $2.1M in the last quarter, leaving insiders with 2.13% ownership.
• Recent results: The company beat quarterly estimates with EPS of $0.55 vs. $0.40 expected and revenue of $374.5M vs. $363.6M, and the stock trades with a market cap of $1.68B and a P/E of 17.4.

EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $28.00.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of EZCORP from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of EZCORP in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Stephens increased their target price on EZCORP from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $34.00 price target on EZCORP in a research report on Friday, February 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling at EZCORP

In other news, CRO Nicole Swies sold 24,138 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total transaction of $597,415.50. Following the sale, the executive owned 115,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,852,833.50. The trade was a 17.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gary Tillett sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.50, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 133,483 shares in the company, valued at $3,403,816.50. This represents a 6.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 84,138 shares of company stock worth $2,102,416. Corporate insiders own 2.13% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EZCORP

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of EZCORP by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,610,029 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $68,735,000 after buying an additional 369,817 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of EZCORP by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,563,724 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $69,209,000 after acquiring an additional 84,566 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in EZCORP by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,167,748 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $61,518,000 after acquiring an additional 1,019,622 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its holdings in EZCORP by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,321,138 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $32,217,000 after acquiring an additional 118,641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in EZCORP by 28.5% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,975,421 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $37,612,000 after acquiring an additional 437,601 shares in the last quarter. 99.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

EZCORP Stock Performance

Shares of EZPW stock opened at $27.19 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $24.97 and a 200 day moving average of $21.20. EZCORP has a 52 week low of $12.85 and a 52 week high of $27.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.43 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 4.69, a current ratio of 6.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $374.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $363.63 million. As a group, research analysts expect that EZCORP will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current year.

EZCORP Company Profile

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.

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