Vident Advisory LLC Buys New Holdings in EZCORP, Inc. $EZPW

Key Points

• Vident Advisory LLC recently acquired 32,596 shares of EZCORP, Inc., valued at approximately $480,000, increasing their ownership to about 0.06% of the company.
• Several institutional investors significantly increased their stakes in EZCORP, with Boston Partners and Fourth Sail Capital LP growing their holdings by 289.7% and 503.6%, respectively, throughout the first quarter.
• EZCORP reported earnings of $0.33 per share for the last quarter, exceeding consensus estimates, with revenues reaching $310.98 million compared to analyst predictions of $302.25 million.

Vident Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 32,596 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $480,000. Vident Advisory LLC owned 0.06% of EZCORP at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in EZCORP by 25.3% during the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 72,727 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,071,000 after buying an additional 14,691 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in EZCORP by 6.7% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 60,614 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $901,000 after buying an additional 3,792 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its stake in EZCORP by 398.7% during the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 99,905 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,471,000 after buying an additional 79,870 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its stake in EZCORP by 289.7% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,569,488 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $23,499,000 after buying an additional 1,166,758 shares during the period. Finally, Informed Momentum Co LLC purchased a new position in EZCORP during the first quarter worth about $2,607,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.83% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EZPW has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of EZCORP from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Friday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, EZCORP currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $18.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Matthew W. Appel sold 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.03, for a total value of $153,270.00. Following the sale, the director owned 142,409 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,425,225.27. This trade represents a 5.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

EZCORP Stock Up 0.3%

NASDAQ:EZPW traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $17.04. The stock had a trading volume of 385,095 shares, compared to its average volume of 592,127. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.62. The company has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 13.31 and a beta of 0.63. EZCORP, Inc. has a twelve month low of $10.56 and a twelve month high of $17.26. The company has a current ratio of 6.31, a quick ratio of 5.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $310.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $302.25 million. EZCORP had a net margin of 7.96% and a return on equity of 11.85%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that EZCORP, Inc. will post 1.3 EPS for the current year.

About EZCORP

EZCORP, Inc provides pawn services in the United States and Latin America. The company operates through three segments: U.S. Pawn, Latin America Pawn, and Other Investments. The company offers pawn loans collateralized by tangible personal property, jewelry, consumer electronics, tools, sporting goods, and musical instruments.