Roth Capital Upgrades EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) to Strong-Buy

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) was upgraded by research analysts at Roth Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on EZPW. Roth Mkm started coverage on EZCORP in a report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $16.00 price target on the stock. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $13.50 price target on shares of EZCORP in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on EZCORP from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.88.

EZCORP Price Performance

NASDAQ EZPW opened at $13.95 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $766.40 million, a PE ratio of 12.13 and a beta of 0.89. 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $13.00 and its 200 day moving average is $12.18. EZCORP has a fifty-two week low of $9.66 and a fifty-two week high of $14.50.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The credit services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that EZCORP will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Teza Capital Management LLC grew its position in EZCORP by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 14,425 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $176,000 after acquiring an additional 896 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in EZCORP by 97.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,156 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,554 shares in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP boosted its position in shares of EZCORP by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 19,800 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $242,000 after buying an additional 2,088 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of EZCORP by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,084,777 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $12,160,000 after buying an additional 2,809 shares during the period. Finally, LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of EZCORP by 39.3% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 14,430 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $176,000 after buying an additional 4,070 shares during the period. 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.