American Century Companies Inc. Purchases 9,005 Shares of World Acceptance Corporation $WRLD

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in World Acceptance Corporation by 17.0%, owning 62,019 shares valued at approximately $7.84 million after purchasing an additional 9,005 shares during the first quarter.
• World Acceptance's shares have received a rating downgrade from strong-buy to hold, with analysts projecting an average price target of $10.00.
• In recent insider activity, Director Charles D. Way sold 402 shares for about $64,320, resulting in a significant decrease in his position by 2.54%.

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of World Acceptance Corporation (NASDAQ:WRLD - Free Report) by 17.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 62,019 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 9,005 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 1.08% of World Acceptance worth $7,849,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of World Acceptance by 2.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 349,238 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $44,196,000 after acquiring an additional 7,429 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of World Acceptance by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 64,584 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $7,262,000 after acquiring an additional 7,622 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of World Acceptance by 84,803.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 46,697 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $5,910,000 after acquiring an additional 46,642 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of World Acceptance by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 42,597 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,790,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares during the period. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of World Acceptance by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 33,632 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,782,000 after acquiring an additional 4,329 shares during the period. 83.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut World Acceptance from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, World Acceptance has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $10.00.

Insider Activity

In other World Acceptance news, insider Daniel Clinton Dyer sold 4,704 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.50, for a total transaction of $750,288.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 42,714 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,812,883. The trade was a 9.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles D. Way sold 402 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $64,320.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 15,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,463,200. This represents a 2.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,156 shares of company stock valued at $822,658 over the last three months. Company insiders own 41.60% of the company's stock.

World Acceptance Price Performance

Shares of World Acceptance stock traded down $1.51 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $169.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 26,499 shares, compared to its average volume of 39,795. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $166.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $147.30. The company has a current ratio of 17.83, a quick ratio of 17.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. World Acceptance Corporation has a one year low of $104.99 and a one year high of $177.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $926.06 million, a P/E ratio of 11.47 and a beta of 1.28.

World Acceptance (NASDAQ:WRLD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($2.19). World Acceptance had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 18.95%. The business had revenue of $132.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $122.38 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that World Acceptance Corporation will post 14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About World Acceptance

World Acceptance Corporation engages in consumer finance business in the United States. The company provides short-term small installment loans, medium-term larger installment loans, related credit insurance, and ancillary products and services to individuals. It offers income tax return preparation and filing services; and automobile club memberships.