EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) Given Buy (B) Rating at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• EZCORP's stock has received a "buy (B)" rating from Weiss Ratings and increased target prices from other analysts, showing positive expectations for the company's performance.
• The company's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $0.33, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.23, indicating strong financial health with revenues of $310.98 million.
• Institutional investors own 99.83% of EZCORP's stock, with several firms recently increasing their stakes, reflecting growing confidence in the company's prospects.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy (b)" rating reaffirmed by investment analysts at Weiss Ratings in a report released on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

EZPW has been the topic of several other research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on EZCORP from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen raised EZCORP from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $19.00.

EZCORP Price Performance

NASDAQ:EZPW opened at $18.95 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 5.00, a current ratio of 6.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $16.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.80 and a beta of 0.62. EZCORP has a 12-month low of $11.09 and a 12-month high of $19.24.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.10. EZCORP had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 7.96%.The company had revenue of $310.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $302.25 million. On average, analysts anticipate that EZCORP will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at EZCORP

In other EZCORP news, Director Matthew W. Appel sold 9,038 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.02, for a total value of $162,864.76. Following the sale, the director owned 133,371 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,403,345.42. This trade represents a 6.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.13% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EZCORP

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 113.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 290,793 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $5,537,000 after purchasing an additional 154,386 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its stake in shares of EZCORP by 24.8% in the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 180,130 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,500,000 after acquiring an additional 35,758 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in shares of EZCORP by 115.0% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 71,945 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $999,000 after acquiring an additional 38,475 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming lifted its stake in shares of EZCORP by 178.1% in the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 11,069 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $154,000 after acquiring an additional 7,089 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP lifted its stake in shares of EZCORP by 23.0% in the 2nd quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 30,271 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $420,000 after acquiring an additional 5,665 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.83% of the company's stock.

About EZCORP

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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