EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $16.35 and last traded at $15.30, with a volume of 2291341 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.72.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on EZPW. Roth Capital set a $16.00 target price on EZCORP in a research note on Monday, March 17th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of EZCORP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Roth Mkm started coverage on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $16.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $13.50 price objective on shares of EZCORP in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of EZCORP from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.88.

EZCORP Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.13 and a current ratio of 2.91. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $13.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.37. The stock has a market cap of $849.63 million, a P/E ratio of 13.52 and a beta of 0.89.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last released its 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 return on equity of 11.04% and a net margin of 7.25%. Equities analysts forecast that EZCORP, Inc. will post 1.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.