EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) Short Interest Update

EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW - Get Free Report) saw a large decrease in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,120,000 shares, a decrease of 14.9% from the April 30th total of 10,720,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,390,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.6 days. Approximately 18.5% of the company's stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on EZPW. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of EZCORP in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Roth Capital set a $16.00 price objective on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of EZCORP from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of EZCORP from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $18.25.

EZCORP Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EZPW traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $13.24. The company had a trading volume of 623,312 shares, compared to its average volume of 744,987. The company has a quick ratio of 2.13, a current ratio of 2.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. EZCORP has a twelve month low of $9.66 and a twelve month high of $16.60. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $728.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.51 and a beta of 0.59.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The credit services provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.02. EZCORP had a net margin of 7.25% and a return on equity of 11.04%. The business had revenue of $306.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $310.35 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that EZCORP will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of EZCORP

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Teza Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of EZCORP by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 14,425 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $176,000 after purchasing an additional 896 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of EZCORP by 60.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,062 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 1,906 shares in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP boosted its position in EZCORP by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 19,800 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $242,000 after buying an additional 2,088 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of EZCORP by 16.9% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,874 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $278,000 after acquiring an additional 2,725 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in EZCORP by 4.3% in the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 80,099 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,179,000 after buying an additional 3,279 shares during the period. 99.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.