EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) Trading 4.6% Higher – What’s Next?

EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) was up 4.6% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $14.00 and last traded at $14.03. Approximately 656,174 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 12% from the average daily volume of 583,292 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.41.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on EZPW. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of EZCORP from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $13.50 price target on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Thursday, February 6th.

EZCORP Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $760.67 million, a P/E ratio of 12.14 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.91 and a quick ratio of 1.99. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $12.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.76.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The credit services provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.07. EZCORP had a return on equity of 11.04% and a net margin of 7.25%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that EZCORP, Inc. will post 1.26 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other EZCORP news, insider Sunil Sajnani sold 34,493 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.42, for a total value of $428,403.06. Following the sale, the insider now owns 66,242 shares in the company, valued at $822,725.64. This trade represents a 34.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CRO Nicole Swies sold 10,000 shares of EZCORP stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.47, for a total value of $124,700.00. Following the sale, the executive now directly owns 101,813 shares in the company, valued at $1,269,608.11. The trade was a 8.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of EZCORP

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of EZPW. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of EZCORP by 97.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,156 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,554 shares during the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,088 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of EZCORP by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,084,777 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $12,160,000 after purchasing an additional 2,809 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in EZCORP by 39.3% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 14,430 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $176,000 after purchasing an additional 4,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in EZCORP by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 304,235 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,718,000 after purchasing an additional 5,034 shares in the last quarter. 99.83% of the stock is currently 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.