EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) Receives $20.50 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $20.50.

EZPW has been the subject of a number of research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on EZCORP from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Friday, November 14th. JMP Securities set a $23.00 target price on shares of EZCORP in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Citizens Jmp started coverage on EZCORP in a report on Monday, November 3rd. They issued a “market outperform” rating and a $23.00 price target for the company.

EZCORP Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EZPW opened at $19.89 on Thursday. EZCORP has a fifty-two week low of $11.60 and a fifty-two week high of $21.49. The company has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.11 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 4.37, a current ratio of 5.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $18.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.91.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The credit services provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $335.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $325.09 million. EZCORP had a return on equity of 12.00% and a net margin of 8.60%. Analysts expect that EZCORP will post 1.3 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EZCORP

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in EZCORP in the third quarter valued at approximately $406,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of EZCORP in the third quarter valued at $933,000. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of EZCORP by 156.4% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 96,554 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,838,000 after purchasing an additional 58,891 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its holdings in EZCORP by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,243,576 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $23,678,000 after purchasing an additional 179,899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in EZCORP during the 3rd quarter worth $276,000. 99.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About EZCORP

EZCORP, Inc is a specialty consumer finance company that provides pawn loans and retail merchandise programs primarily through its EZPAWN and Cash Converters brands. The company offers collateral-based loans secured principally by jewelry, electronics, musical instruments and other personal items, alongside check-cashing, money-transfer and bill-payment services. In addition to its pawn lending operations, EZCORP acquires previously pawned or consumer merchandise for resale through its “Sell-It-Now” platform and retail storefronts.

Founded in 1989 and headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, EZCORP operates in two principal geographic markets: the United States and Mexico.