Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes $660,000 Position in EZCORP, Inc. $EZPW

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 26,000 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $660,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in EZCORP in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in EZCORP by 533.5% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,667 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 2,246 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in EZCORP by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,146 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming boosted its position in EZCORP by 178.1% during the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 11,069 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $154,000 after purchasing an additional 7,089 shares during the period. Finally, Palisade Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of EZCORP in the second quarter valued at $179,000. 99.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

EZCORP Price Performance

EZPW stock traded down $0.30 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $34.97. 49,471 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 903,033. EZCORP, Inc. has a 52 week low of $13.07 and a 52 week high of $37.13. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $32.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.26. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a PE ratio of 19.02 and a beta of 0.64.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The credit services provider reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.22. The business 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%. As a group, analysts expect that EZCORP, Inc. will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on EZPW. Zacks Research upgraded shares of EZCORP from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Citizens Jmp upped 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. Weiss Ratings raised EZCORP from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of EZCORP in a report on Monday, May 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $37.25.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Pablo Lagos Espinosa sold 10,000 shares of EZCORP stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 217,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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 stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.56, for a total transaction of $671,200.00. Following the sale, 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 2.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.