Ellen Bryant Sells 30,000 Shares of EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) Stock

EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) insider Ellen Bryant sold 30,000 shares of EZCORP stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.77, for a total value of $1,043,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 117,786 shares in the company, valued at $4,095,419.22. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

EZCORP Price Performance

Shares of EZPW opened at $33.90 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.88. EZCORP, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.31 and a 52-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 has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a PE ratio of 17.12 and a beta of 0.66.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The credit services provider reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $425.83 million. Sell-side analysts predict that EZCORP, Inc. will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EZCORP

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EZPW. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in EZCORP during the second quarter worth $270,000. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in EZCORP by 3,013.1% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 2,201,763 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $76,115,000 after acquiring an additional 2,131,038 shares in the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new stake in EZCORP in the second quarter valued at $90,000. Triumph Capital Management lifted its stake in EZCORP by 4.7% in the second quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 14,324 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $495,000 after acquiring an additional 642 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Navellier & Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of EZCORP by 203.0% in the 2nd quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 65,347 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,259,000 after acquiring an additional 43,780 shares during the period. 99.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EZPW has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded EZCORP from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of EZCORP in a report on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on EZCORP from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Citizens Jmp lifted their target price on EZCORP from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.80.

EZCORP Company 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.