American Century Companies Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in EZCORP, Inc. $EZPW

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. reduced its stake in EZCORP by 32.2%, selling 182,297 shares and holding 384,694 shares valued at approximately $5.66 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Significant increases in positions by other institutional investors, such as Divisadero Street Capital Management, which grew its stake by 1,699.2% to over 1.2 million shares.
• EZCORP reported a quarterly EPS of $0.33, exceeding estimates, with analysts projecting a target price range for the stock of up to $25.00 from Canaccord Genuity.

American Century Companies Inc. lowered its position in EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW - Free Report) by 32.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 384,694 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 182,297 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.70% of EZCORP worth $5,663,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of EZCORP by 60.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,062 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 1,906 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new stake in shares of EZCORP in the first quarter worth about $91,000. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in EZCORP in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $138,000. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in EZCORP in the first quarter valued at approximately $149,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in EZCORP in the first quarter valued at approximately $161,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.83% of the company's stock.

EZCORP Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of EZPW stock traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $16.62. 308,211 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 972,437. EZCORP, Inc. has a 12 month low of $10.56 and a 12 month high of $16.80. The company has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.98 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a quick ratio of 5.00, a current ratio of 6.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company's 50-day moving average price is $14.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.43.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts expect that EZCORP, Inc. will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on EZPW. Wall Street Zen raised shares of EZCORP from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of EZCORP in a 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $18.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO John Blair Jr. Powell sold 3,500 shares of EZCORP stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.81, for a total value of $48,335.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 145,983 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,016,025.23. The trade was a 2.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

EZCORP Profile

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.