EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) Director Sells $320,000.00 in Stock

EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) Director Pablo Lagos Espinosa sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total value of $320,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 217,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,961,376. This trade represents a 4.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

EZCORP Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EZPW traded down $0.19 on Monday, reaching $31.77. 247,992 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 843,470. EZCORP, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $12.85 and a fifty-two week high of $37.13. The company’s 50 day moving average is $30.88 and its 200-day moving average is $25.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a PE ratio of 17.21 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 4.71 and a quick ratio of 3.52.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The credit services provider reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter. As a group, analysts anticipate that EZCORP, Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of EZCORP

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 38.6% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 70,725 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,795,000 after acquiring an additional 19,708 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in EZCORP by 50.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 457,861 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $11,621,000 after purchasing an additional 153,770 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in EZCORP in the 1st quarter worth about $247,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in EZCORP in the 1st quarter worth about $249,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its position in EZCORP by 21.8% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 134,056 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,402,000 after purchasing an additional 24,016 shares during the last quarter. 99.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citizens Jmp boosted their target price on shares of EZCORP from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of EZCORP from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of EZCORP from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $37.25.

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.