Renaissance Technologies LLC Sells 196,862 Shares of EZCORP, Inc. $EZPW

Renaissance Technologies LLC cut its holdings in shares of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) by 8.4% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,157,366 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 196,862 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in EZCORP were worth $54,754,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in EZCORP during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. KBC Group NV acquired a new position in shares of EZCORP in the first quarter valued at $44,000. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in shares of EZCORP by 533.5% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,667 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 2,246 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of EZCORP by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,146 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming lifted its stake in shares of EZCORP by 178.1% during the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 11,069 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $154,000 after buying an additional 7,089 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on EZPW shares. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of EZCORP in a report on Friday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on EZCORP from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded EZCORP from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.80.

EZCORP Stock Performance

Shares of EZPW opened at $29.54 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a current ratio of 4.71. EZCORP, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.07 and a 52-week high of $37.13. The firm has a market cap of $1.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.05 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s fifty day moving average is $32.54 and its 200-day moving average is $28.51.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last announced 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 company 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that EZCORP, Inc. will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Pablo Lagos Espinosa sold 10,000 shares of EZCORP stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.54, for a total transaction of $355,400.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 207,543 shares in the company, valued at $7,376,078.22. This trade represents a 4.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jason A. Kulas sold 20,000 shares of EZCORP stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.56, for a total transaction of $671,200.00. Following the sale, the director owned 172,948 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,804,134.88. This represents a 10.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 40,000 shares of company stock worth $1,346,600. Company insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

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.