Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires 446,343 Shares of EZCORP, Inc. $EZPW

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management increased its EZCORP stake by 178.2% in the third quarter, purchasing 446,343 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 696,826 shares worth approximately $20.7 million.
• EZCORP reported quarterly EPS of $0.47, beating the $0.41 consensus estimate, although revenue of $408.4 million fell short of the $425.8 million expectation. Institutional investors own 99.83% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with six Buy ratings and two Holds, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $39 versus the reported share price of $33.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW - Free Report) by 178.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 696,826 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 446,343 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 1.13% of EZCORP worth $20,738,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of EZCORP in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,452,000. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC increased its position in shares of EZCORP by 634.5% during the first quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC now owns 189,239 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $4,803,000 after acquiring an additional 163,476 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of EZCORP by 50.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 457,861 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $11,621,000 after acquiring an additional 153,770 shares during the period. Burney Co. purchased a new stake in shares of EZCORP during the first quarter worth $1,802,000. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of EZCORP in the first quarter valued at $1,777,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.83% of the company's stock.

EZCORP Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EZPW opened at $33.00 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a PE ratio of 16.67 and a beta of 0.71. The business's fifty day moving average price is $31.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 4.81 and a quick ratio of 3.45. EZCORP, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.50 and a 12 month high of $37.13.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The credit services provider reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $408.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $425.83 million. EZCORP had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 9.97%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that EZCORP, Inc. will post 2.00 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ellen Bryant sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.77, for a total value of $1,043,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 117,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,095,419.22. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal 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. 2.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on EZPW shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on EZCORP from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered EZCORP from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Zacks Research cut EZCORP from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded EZCORP from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on EZCORP from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $39.00.

About EZCORP

EZCORP, Inc is a financial services and retail company that operates pawn stores under brands including EZPAWN, Value Pawn and other regional names. Its stores provide short-term, collateral-based pawn loans to consumers who pledge personal property as security. Customers can generally reclaim pledged items by repaying the loan and applicable fees within the agreed term.

In addition to pawn lending, EZCORP generates revenue by selling pre-owned merchandise that has been forfeited or acquired through its stores.

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