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

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

EZCORP Stock Performance

NASDAQ EZPW traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $35.23. 1,166,037 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 946,980. The business’s 50 day moving average is $31.44 and its 200-day moving average is $29.71. EZCORP, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.20 and a 1 year high of $37.13. The company has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.79 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 3.45 and a current ratio of 4.81.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on EZPW shares. Zacks Research downgraded EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Citizens Jmp increased 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. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $44.00 price target on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of EZCORP from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, EZCORP currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.80.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EZCORP

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of EZCORP by 23.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 19,375 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 3,705 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in EZCORP during the 1st quarter worth $1,646,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 47.9% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 183,291 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,544,000 after buying an additional 59,339 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in shares of EZCORP by 0.9% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 73,064 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,014,000 after buying an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of EZCORP in the second quarter valued at about $1,718,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.83% of the company’s stock.

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.