EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) Insider Ellen Bryant Sells 20,000 Shares of Stock

EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) insider Ellen Bryant sold 20,000 shares of EZCORP stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 147,786 shares in the company, valued at $3,694,650. This trade represents a 11.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

EZCORP Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EZPW opened at $25.13 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.11 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.06. 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 1 year low of $12.85 and a 1 year high of $26.35.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EZPW. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 398.4% in the 2nd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 68,293 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $948,000 after acquiring an additional 54,590 shares during the last quarter. Amitell Capital Pte Ltd purchased a new position in EZCORP in the 2nd quarter worth $3,668,000. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in EZCORP by 43.7% in the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 160,683 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,230,000 after purchasing an additional 48,831 shares during the period. Fourth Sail Capital LP lifted its stake in EZCORP by 30.7% in the second quarter. Fourth Sail Capital LP now owns 1,251,362 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,369,000 after purchasing an additional 294,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in EZCORP by 44.6% during the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 27,287 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 8,413 shares during the period. 99.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on EZPW. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $34.00 target price on EZCORP in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Stephens lifted their price target on EZCORP from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Zacks Research upgraded EZCORP from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Citizens Jmp increased their price objective on EZCORP from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, EZCORP currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $28.00.

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.