Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $86.94 Million Holdings in EZCORP, Inc. $EZPW

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP decreased its holdings in EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) by 3.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,425,789 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 137,935 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.06% of EZCORP worth $86,945,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. L & S Advisors Inc bought a new position in shares of EZCORP during the 4th quarter valued at $1,939,000. UBS Group AG increased its position in EZCORP by 45.4% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 579,433 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $11,253,000 after acquiring an additional 181,031 shares during the last quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in EZCORP during the fourth quarter valued at $2,593,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in EZCORP by 47.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,167,748 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $61,518,000 after acquiring an additional 1,019,622 shares during the period. Finally, Rothschild Wealth LLC bought a new position in EZCORP in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,561,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on EZPW shares. Zacks Research cut EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of EZCORP from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of EZCORP in a report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Friday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Pablo Lagos Espinosa sold 10,000 shares of EZCORP stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.54, for a total transaction of $355,400.00. Following the sale, the director owned 207,543 shares in the company, valued at $7,376,078.22. This trade represents a 4.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jason A. Kulas sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.56, for a total transaction of $671,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 172,948 shares in the company, valued at $5,804,134.88. This trade represents a 10.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 40,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,346,600. Insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

EZCORP Stock Performance

NASDAQ EZPW opened at $29.16 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.85 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 4.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $32.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.74. EZCORP, Inc. has a twelve month low of $13.74 and a twelve month high of $37.13.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The credit services provider reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.22. EZCORP had a return on equity of 13.45% and a net margin of 9.91%.The company had revenue of $434.90 million for the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts predict that EZCORP, Inc. will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.