EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) Sets New 1-Year High at $11.42

EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $11.42 and last traded at $11.41, with a volume of 244192 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.16.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on EZCORP from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. TheStreet raised shares of EZCORP from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 29th.

EZCORP Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 3.08 and a current ratio of 4.00. The stock has a market cap of $632.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.21 and a beta of 1.15.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.07. EZCORP had a return on equity of 10.37% and a net margin of 4.62%. The business had revenue of $299.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $303.66 million. Analysts expect that EZCORP, Inc. will post 1.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at EZCORP

In other EZCORP news, CRO Nicole Swies sold 2,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.38, for a total transaction of $25,605.00. Following the sale, the executive now owns 71,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $813,192.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of EZCORP

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of EZCORP by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,313,154 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $37,697,000 after buying an additional 17,975 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its position in EZCORP by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,593,128 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $29,380,000 after purchasing an additional 60,329 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of EZCORP by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 2,510,414 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $21,941,000 after purchasing an additional 118,599 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of EZCORP by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 1,118,450 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,775,000 after purchasing an additional 110,650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Azarias Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of EZCORP by 104.5% in the 3rd quarter. Azarias Capital Management L.P. now owns 985,625 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $8,131,000 after purchasing an additional 503,710 shares during the last quarter. 99.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.