EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $13.45, but opened at $14.12. EZCORP shares last traded at $13.88, with a volume of 75,249 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EZPW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $13.50 target price on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on EZCORP from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Roth Mkm began coverage on EZCORP in a research report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $16.00 target price for the company.

EZCORP Trading Up 2.9 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.91 and a quick ratio of 2.13. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $12.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $760.08 million, a P/E ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 0.89.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The credit services provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, equities research analysts expect that EZCORP, Inc. will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EZCORP

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake in EZCORP by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 2,002,197 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $24,467,000 after purchasing an additional 310,706 shares during the period. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 1,699.2% during the 4th quarter. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP now owns 1,246,445 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $15,232,000 after purchasing an additional 1,177,166 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of EZCORP by 23.9% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,195,784 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $14,612,000 after buying an additional 231,018 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in EZCORP by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,084,777 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $12,160,000 after acquiring an additional 2,809 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,022,570 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $12,496,000 after acquiring an additional 12,800 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.83% of the company’s stock.

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.