Wasatch Advisors LP Has $18.96 Million Holdings in EZCORP, Inc. $EZPW

Wasatch Advisors LP lessened its position in EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) by 23.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 548,382 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 165,552 shares during the quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP owned about 0.89% of EZCORP worth $18,958,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in EZCORP during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of EZCORP in the second quarter worth about $31,000. KBC Group NV bought a new position in shares of EZCORP in the first quarter worth about $44,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of EZCORP by 533.5% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,667 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 2,246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of EZCORP by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,146 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on EZPW. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on EZCORP from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Zacks Research cut EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $44.00 price objective on EZCORP in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.80.

EZCORP Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EZPW opened at $28.91 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $31.63 and its 200-day moving average is $29.22. The company has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.60 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $15.42 and a 52-week high of $37.13.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other EZCORP news, Director Pablo Lagos Espinosa sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.54, for a total value of $355,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 207,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,376,078.22. This represents a 4.60% decrease in their position. The transaction 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. 2.13% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.