EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) Shares Down 7.6% – What’s Next?

EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW)’s share price dropped 7.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $32.88 and last traded at $32.74. 714,415 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 21% from the average session volume of 906,841 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.44.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citizens Jmp boosted their price objective on EZCORP from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of EZCORP in a report on Monday. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $44.00 price target on EZCORP in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of EZCORP in a report on Friday, May 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $38.80.

EZCORP Trading Down 7.0%

The company has a quick ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 4.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $32.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.37. The stock has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.94 and a beta of 0.64.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The credit services provider reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $434.90 million during the quarter. EZCORP had a return on equity of 13.45% and a net margin of 9.91%. Equities analysts anticipate that EZCORP, Inc. will post 2 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other EZCORP news, Director Pablo Lagos Espinosa sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total value of $320,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 217,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,961,376. This trade represents a 4.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jason A. Kulas sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.56, for a total transaction of $671,200.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 172,948 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,804,134.88. This trade represents a 10.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sigma Planning Corp raised its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 3.9% during the first quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 13,707 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $348,000 after buying an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in EZCORP by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 15,960 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in EZCORP by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 73,064 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,014,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 18,173 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $353,000 after purchasing an additional 685 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,146 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.83% of the company’s stock.

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.