FJ Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in EZCORP, Inc. $EZPW

FJ Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 133,526 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,593,000. FJ Capital Management LLC owned about 0.22% of EZCORP as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 15,960 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 73,064 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,014,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 18,173 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $353,000 after acquiring an additional 685 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,146 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ellsworth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 44,792 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $965,000 after acquiring an additional 971 shares during the last quarter. 99.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on EZPW. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of EZCORP from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $44.00 price objective on shares of EZCORP in a report on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of EZCORP in a report on Monday, May 11th. Citizens Jmp boosted their price objective on shares of EZCORP from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of EZCORP in a report on Friday, May 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, EZCORP currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.25.

EZCORP Stock Up 1.6%

NASDAQ:EZPW opened at $31.25 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $31.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.74. The company has a market capitalization of $1.92 billion, a PE ratio of 16.98 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $12.85 and a 1-year high of $37.13.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The credit services provider reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $434.90 million for the quarter. EZCORP had a net margin of 9.91% and a return on equity of 13.45%. On average, equities analysts predict that EZCORP, Inc. will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at EZCORP

In other news, Director Jason A. Kulas sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.56, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Pablo Lagos Espinosa sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total transaction of $320,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 217,543 shares in the company, valued at $6,961,376. This represents a 4.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 2.13% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.