Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Makes New $1.21 Million Investment in EZCORP, Inc. $EZPW

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 47,543 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,207,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,563,724 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $69,209,000 after buying an additional 84,566 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in EZCORP by 47.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,167,748 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $61,518,000 after acquiring an additional 1,019,622 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position in EZCORP by 5.4% during the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,321,138 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,217,000 after acquiring an additional 118,641 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 28.5% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,975,421 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $37,612,000 after acquiring an additional 437,601 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 8.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,246,427 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $23,732,000 after acquiring an additional 99,059 shares during the period. 99.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EZPW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on EZCORP from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $44.00 target price on EZCORP in a report on Friday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.80.

EZCORP Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EZPW remained flat at $34.07 on Friday. 970,805 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,084,207. EZCORP, Inc. has a 1 year low of $13.07 and a 1 year high of $37.13. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $32.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.61. The firm has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.52 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 4.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Pablo Lagos Espinosa sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 4.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 40,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,346,600. Corporate insiders own 2.13% 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.