Penn Capital Management Company LLC Increases Position in EZCORP, Inc. $EZPW

Penn Capital Management Company LLC boosted its holdings in EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) by 233.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 495,962 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 347,021 shares during the quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC owned about 0.81% of EZCORP worth $9,639,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of EZPW. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in EZCORP by 23.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 19,375 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 3,705 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in EZCORP during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,646,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in EZCORP by 47.9% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 183,291 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,544,000 after purchasing an additional 59,339 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in EZCORP by 0.9% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 73,064 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,014,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in EZCORP during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,718,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at EZCORP

In other EZCORP news, Director Jason A. Kulas sold 20,000 shares of EZCORP stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.56, for a total value of $671,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 172,948 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,804,134.88. This trade represents a 10.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $44.00 price objective on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of EZCORP from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of EZCORP from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Citizens Jmp raised their target price on shares of EZCORP from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Two equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, EZCORP has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $37.25.

EZCORP Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EZPW opened at $34.62 on Wednesday. EZCORP, Inc. has a 52 week low of $12.85 and a 52 week high of $37.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.82 and a beta of 0.65. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.54. The company has a quick ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 4.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

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

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.