Burney Co. Takes Position in EZCORP, Inc. $EZPW

Burney Co. acquired a new position in shares of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 71,006 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,802,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP raised its holdings in EZCORP by 39.5% in the third quarter. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP now owns 138,505 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,637,000 after buying an additional 39,195 shares during the period. Miller Global Investments LLC purchased a new stake in EZCORP during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,451,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in EZCORP by 163.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 483,211 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,200,000 after buying an additional 299,920 shares during the period. L & S Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in shares of EZCORP in the fourth quarter worth $1,939,000. Finally, Harbour Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of EZCORP in the fourth quarter worth $1,207,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at EZCORP

In related news, Director Pablo Lagos Espinosa sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total value of $320,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 217,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,961,376. The trade was a 4.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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. Also, Director Jason A. Kulas sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.56, for a total value of $671,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 172,948 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,804,134.88. This represents a 10.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 2.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

EZCORP Stock Performance

EZCORP stock opened at $32.16 on Thursday. EZCORP, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.07 and a 12-month high of $37.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 4.71 and a quick ratio of 3.52. The company has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.48 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $32.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.46.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The credit services provider reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $434.90 million during the quarter. EZCORP had a net margin of 9.91% and a return on equity of 13.45%. On average, research analysts forecast that EZCORP, Inc. will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of EZCORP from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citizens Jmp raised their price objective on EZCORP from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Zacks Research upgraded EZCORP from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.80.

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.