EZCORP, Inc. $EZPW Holdings Increased by Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) by 10.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 193,627 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 18,943 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in EZCORP were worth $4,914,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,563,724 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $69,209,000 after buying an additional 84,566 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 47.5% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its position in shares of EZCORP by 5.4% during the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,321,138 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,217,000 after purchasing an additional 118,641 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 437,601 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 8.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,246,427 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $23,732,000 after purchasing an additional 99,059 shares during the last quarter. 99.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on EZPW shares. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $44.00 price target on shares of EZCORP in a report on Friday, May 8th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of EZCORP in a research note 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. Wall Street Zen lowered EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. Finally, Citizens Jmp raised their target price on EZCORP from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $37.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at EZCORP

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

EZCORP Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EZPW opened at $35.59 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $32.61 and its 200-day moving average is $27.16. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $13.07 and a 12 month high of $37.13. The firm has a market cap of $2.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.34 and a beta of 0.64.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The credit services provider reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.22. EZCORP had a return on equity of 13.45% and a net margin of 9.91%.The firm had revenue of $434.90 million during the quarter. Equities analysts anticipate that EZCORP, Inc. will post 2 EPS 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.