Royal Bank of Canada Sells 17,271 Shares of EZCORP, Inc. $EZPW

Royal Bank of Canada trimmed its position in shares of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) by 11.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 137,523 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 17,271 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.22% of EZCORP worth $3,491,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of EZCORP in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. KBC Group NV purchased a new position in EZCORP during the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in EZCORP by 533.5% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,667 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 2,246 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in EZCORP by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,146 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming raised its position in EZCORP by 178.1% during the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 11,069 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $154,000 after purchasing an additional 7,089 shares during the last quarter. 99.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

EZCORP Stock Performance

Shares of EZPW opened at $29.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 4.81 and a quick ratio of 3.45. EZCORP, Inc. has a one year low of $15.42 and a one year high of $37.13. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a PE ratio of 14.89 and a beta of 0.66.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The credit services provider reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.06. EZCORP had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 9.97%.The business had revenue of $408.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $425.83 million. On average, analysts anticipate that EZCORP, Inc. will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EZPW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on EZCORP from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Zacks Research downgraded EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered EZCORP from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $44.00 price target on shares of EZCORP in a report on Friday, May 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.80.

Insider Activity at EZCORP

In related news, Director Pablo Lagos Espinosa sold 10,000 shares of EZCORP stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.54, for a total transaction of $355,400.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 207,543 shares in the company, valued at $7,376,078.22. The trade was a 4.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 2.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About EZCORP

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.