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Here's Why Ezcorp (EZPW) Gained But Lagged the Market Today

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Ezcorp (EZPW - Free Report) closed at $8.37 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.24% move from the prior day. The stock fell short of the S&P 500, which registered a gain of 0.43% for the day. At the same time, the Dow added 0.19%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.71%.

The consumer financial services company's shares have seen an increase of 3.73% over the last month, surpassing the Finance sector's loss of 2.32% and the S&P 500's loss of 2.1%.

The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Ezcorp in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $0.17, showcasing a 13.33% upward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $265.38 million, showing a 13.69% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Ezcorp. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. To take advantage of this, we've established the Zacks Rank, an exclusive model that considers these estimated changes and delivers an operational rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. Ezcorp currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

With respect to valuation, Ezcorp is currently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 10.12. This indicates a premium in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 8.38.

One should further note that EZPW currently holds a PEG ratio of 0.29. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. The Financial - Consumer Loans industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.18 as of yesterday's close.

The Financial - Consumer Loans industry is part of the Finance sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 158, putting it in the bottom 38% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.


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