EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) Director Sells $500,000.00 in Stock

EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) Director Pablo Lagos Espinosa sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total value of $500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 208,177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,204,425. This trade represents a 8.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

EZCORP Stock Performance

EZPW traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $25.34. 1,349,492 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,038,061. The stock has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.24 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 6.03 and a quick ratio of 4.69. EZCORP, Inc. has a 12 month low of $12.85 and a 12 month high of $26.35.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.15. EZCORP had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 12.37%. The company had revenue of $374.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $363.63 million. Analysts anticipate that EZCORP, Inc. will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on EZPW shares. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $34.00 price target on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of EZCORP from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its position in EZCORP by 398.4% in the second quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 68,293 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $948,000 after buying an additional 54,590 shares in the last quarter. Amitell Capital Pte Ltd bought a new position in shares of EZCORP in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,668,000. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of EZCORP by 43.7% in the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 160,683 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,230,000 after acquiring an additional 48,831 shares during the last quarter. Fourth Sail Capital LP boosted its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 30.7% in the 2nd quarter. Fourth Sail Capital LP now owns 1,251,362 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,369,000 after acquiring an additional 294,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in EZCORP during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,468,000. 99.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.