Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC Buys 163,476 Shares of EZCORP, Inc. $EZPW

Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) by 634.5% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 189,239 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 163,476 shares during the quarter. EZCORP comprises approximately 0.7% of Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC’s holdings in EZCORP were worth $4,803,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EZPW. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of EZCORP by 47.5% in 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 period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its position in EZCORP by 70.2% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,063,677 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $14,764,000 after purchasing an additional 438,542 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in EZCORP by 28.5% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,975,421 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $37,612,000 after purchasing an additional 437,601 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in EZCORP by 89.2% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 785,131 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $15,247,000 after purchasing an additional 370,103 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in EZCORP by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,610,029 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $68,735,000 after purchasing an additional 369,817 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at EZCORP

In related news, Director Jason A. Kulas sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director owned 172,948 shares in the company, valued at $5,804,134.88. The trade was a 10.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Pablo Lagos Espinosa sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total transaction of $320,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 217,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,961,376. This represents a 4.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EZPW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of EZCORP from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Citizens Jmp lifted their target price on shares of EZCORP from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of EZCORP from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, EZCORP has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $37.25.

EZCORP Stock Performance

NASDAQ EZPW opened at $35.59 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.34 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.11. 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 one year low of $13.07 and a one year high of $37.13.

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 firm had revenue of $434.90 million for the quarter. EZCORP had a return on equity of 13.45% and a net margin of 9.91%. Research analysts expect that EZCORP, Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

EZCORP 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.