EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) Stock Jumps 4% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• EZCORP shares rose 4% to about $33.25, although trading volume was roughly 75% below the stock’s average daily volume.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with six Buy ratings and two Holds, an overall “Moderate Buy” consensus, and an average price target of $38.80.
• The company exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $0.47 versus the $0.41 consensus, but revenue of $408.4 million fell short of estimates; an insider also sold 30,000 shares under a pre-arranged trading plan.

Shares of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW - Get Free Report) traded up 4% on Monday. The company traded as high as $33.24 and last traded at $33.2490. Approximately 228,474 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 902,480 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.96.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings cut EZCORP from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on EZCORP from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of EZCORP from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of EZCORP from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Six research 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 currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $38.80.

EZCORP Stock Up 3.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 4.81 and a quick ratio of 3.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.71 and a beta of 0.71. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $31.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.22.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The credit services provider reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $408.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $425.83 million. EZCORP had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 9.97%. As a group, research analysts expect that EZCORP, Inc. will post 2.00 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at EZCORP

In other EZCORP news, insider Ellen Bryant sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.77, for a total transaction of $1,043,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 117,786 shares in the company, valued at $4,095,419.22. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 2.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EZCORP

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new position in EZCORP during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,452,000. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC lifted its stake in EZCORP by 634.5% during the 1st quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC now owns 189,239 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,803,000 after acquiring an additional 163,476 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in EZCORP by 50.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 457,861 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $11,621,000 after acquiring an additional 153,770 shares during the period. FJ Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of EZCORP in the 4th quarter valued at $2,593,000. Finally, Rothschild Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of EZCORP in the 4th quarter valued at $1,561,000. 99.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About EZCORP

EZCORP, Inc is a financial services and retail company that operates pawn stores under brands including EZPAWN, Value Pawn and other regional names. Its stores provide short-term, collateral-based pawn loans to consumers who pledge personal property as security. Customers can generally reclaim pledged items by repaying the loan and applicable fees within the agreed term.

In addition to pawn lending, EZCORP generates revenue by selling pre-owned merchandise that has been forfeited or acquired through its stores.

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