EZCORP, Inc. $EZPW Stock: Hennessy Advisors Inc. Reduces Holdings

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in shares of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) by 8.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 257,700 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 25,100 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in EZCORP were worth $7,669,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in EZCORP during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in EZCORP by 546.4% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,183 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in EZCORP by 4,125.0% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 1,521 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 1,485 shares during the period. KBC Group NV bought a new stake in shares of EZCORP during the first quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 227.8% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,865 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 1,296 shares in the last quarter. 99.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on EZPW. Zacks Research lowered EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of EZCORP from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of EZCORP from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of EZCORP from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, EZCORP presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.00.

EZCORP Price Performance

EZCORP stock opened at $28.11 on Monday. EZCORP, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.50 and a fifty-two week high of $37.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 3.45 and a current ratio of 4.81. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.50. The stock has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a PE ratio of 14.20 and a beta of 0.71.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The credit services provider reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.06. EZCORP had a net margin of 9.97% and a return on equity of 13.99%. The firm had revenue of $408.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $425.83 million. Research analysts predict that EZCORP, Inc. will post 2.00 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ellen Bryant sold 30,000 shares of EZCORP stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.77, for a total transaction of $1,043,100.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 117,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,095,419.22. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 2.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

EZCORP Company Profile

EZCORP, Inc is a financial services and retail company that provides pawn loans and sells pre-owned merchandise. Through its pawn stores, the company offers short-term, collateral-based loans secured by personal property such as jewelry, electronics, tools and other consumer goods.

In addition to lending, EZCORP purchases and resells previously owned merchandise, giving customers access to used jewelry, electronics, tools, sporting goods and other products. Its retail operations also support the company’s pawn-lending model by providing a sales channel for collateral that is not redeemed.

EZCORP serves customers through stores operating under brands that include EZPAWN and Value Pawn in the United States, as well as related brands in Latin American markets.