EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) Trading Up 4.6% – Still a Buy?

Shares of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) rose 4.6% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $14.00 and last traded at $14.03. 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

EZCORP Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $760.67 million, a PE ratio of 12.14 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.91 and a quick ratio of 1.99.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The credit services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.07. EZCORP had a net margin of 7.25% and a return on equity of 11.04%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that EZCORP, Inc. will post 1.26 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at EZCORP

In related news, CRO Nicole Swies sold 10,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive now directly owns 101,813 shares in the company, valued at $1,269,608.11. This trade represents a 8.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Sunil Sajnani sold 34,493 shares of EZCORP stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.42, for a total transaction of $428,403.06. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 66,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $822,725.64. This trade represents a 34.24 % 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 Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EZPW. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in EZCORP by 97.0% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of EZCORP during the third quarter valued at approximately $106,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in EZCORP in the 4th quarter worth approximately $122,000. nVerses Capital LLC raised its holdings in EZCORP by 640.0% in the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 11,100 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $124,000 after acquiring an additional 9,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR purchased a new stake in shares of EZCORP during the third quarter valued at $138,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.