Harbour Capital Advisors LLC Acquires New Stake in EZCORP, Inc. $EZPW

Harbour Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 60,180 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,207,000. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.10% of EZCORP at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its position in shares of EZCORP by 5.4% in the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,321,138 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,217,000 after buying an additional 118,641 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of EZCORP by 27.7% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,148,126 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $40,900,000 after buying an additional 465,462 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $37,612,000 after buying an additional 437,601 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at EZCORP

In other news, Director Gary Tillett sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.50, for a total value of $255,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 133,483 shares in the company, valued at $3,403,816.50. This trade represents a 6.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Pablo Lagos Espinosa sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total value of $500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 208,177 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,204,425. This trade represents a 8.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 84,138 shares of company stock valued at $2,102,416. Corporate insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

EZCORP Stock Performance

Shares of EZPW stock opened at $25.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 4.69 and a current ratio of 6.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.31 and a beta of 0.49. EZCORP, Inc. has a one year low of $12.85 and a one year high of $27.30. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $24.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.58.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $363.63 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that EZCORP, Inc. will post 1.3 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on EZPW shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded EZCORP from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen raised EZCORP from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Citizens Jmp upped their target price on EZCORP from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, EZCORP currently has a consensus 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.