EZCORP, Inc. $EZPW Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,547,236 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 62,793 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.06% of EZCORP worth $68,887,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its position in shares of EZCORP by 5.4% in the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,321,138 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,217,000 after buying an additional 118,641 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of EZCORP by 27.7% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,148,126 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $40,900,000 after buying an additional 465,462 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of EZCORP by 28.5% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,975,421 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $37,612,000 after buying an additional 437,601 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of EZCORP by 8.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,246,427 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $23,732,000 after buying an additional 99,059 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in shares of EZCORP by 16.9% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,243,576 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $23,678,000 after buying an additional 179,899 shares during the last quarter. 99.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

EZCORP Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of EZPW opened at $32.78 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.71, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. EZCORP, Inc. has a 12-month low of $12.85 and a 12-month high of $37.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $28.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.82 and a beta of 0.65.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The credit services provider reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.22. EZCORP had a net margin of 9.91% and a return on equity of 13.45%. The firm had revenue of $434.90 million during the quarter. Sell-side analysts forecast that EZCORP, Inc. will post 2 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EZPW has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of EZCORP from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Stephens increased their target price on shares of EZCORP from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Monday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $44.00 target price on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.25.

Insider Activity at EZCORP

In other EZCORP news, Director Pablo Lagos Espinosa sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 208,177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,204,425. This trade represents a 8.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jason A. Kulas sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was 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. Insiders have sold a total of 104,138 shares of company stock valued at $2,773,616 over the last quarter. 2.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

EZCORP Profile

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.