EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume Following Analyst Upgrade

EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday after Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on the stock from $19.00 to $22.00. Canaccord Genuity Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Approximately 1,000,430 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 89% from the previous session’s volume of 529,603 shares.The stock last traded at $13.21 and had previously closed at $12.36.

Separately, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $13.50 target price on shares of EZCORP in a report on Thursday.

Insider Activity at EZCORP

In other EZCORP news, CRO Nicole Swies sold 10,000 shares of EZCORP stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive now directly owns 101,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,269,608.11. The trade was a 8.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Sunil Sajnani sold 34,493 shares of EZCORP stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.42, for a total transaction of $428,403.06. Following the completion of the sale, 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 owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EZCORP

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EZPW. Inspire Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of EZCORP during the fourth quarter worth about $865,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its position in shares of EZCORP by 161.0% during the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 132,972 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,491,000 after acquiring an additional 82,025 shares in the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of EZCORP during the third quarter worth about $2,122,000. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of EZCORP during the third quarter worth about $662,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of EZCORP by 11.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 92,166 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,033,000 after acquiring an additional 9,328 shares in the last quarter. 99.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

EZCORP Trading Up 8.7 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $12.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.69. The company has a market capitalization of $731.46 million, a P/E ratio of 12.10 and a beta of 1.01.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The credit services provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.07. EZCORP had a net margin of 7.15% and a return on equity of 10.65%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that EZCORP, Inc. will post 1.26 earnings per share for the current year.

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.