EZCORP, Inc. $EZPW Shares Purchased by Voya Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Voya Investment Management LLC has significantly increased its stake in EZCORP, Inc. by 67.3% in the first quarter, acquiring a total of 108,879 shares worth $1,603,000.
• Notable institutional investors like Boston Partners and Vanguard Group Inc. have also raised their stakes, indicating strong interest in the company as institutional ownership now stands at 99.83%.
• EZCORP’s stock experienced a modest increase of 1.7% recently, with the company reporting better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $0.33 per share, surpassing analyst estimates.

Voya Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW - Free Report) by 67.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 108,879 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 43,786 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC owned 0.20% of EZCORP worth $1,603,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of EZCORP by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,263,712 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $48,042,000 after acquiring an additional 9,968 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 289.7% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,569,488 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $23,499,000 after acquiring an additional 1,166,758 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 31.0% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,520,830 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $22,387,000 after acquiring an additional 359,543 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 21.8% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,455,869 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $21,430,000 after acquiring an additional 260,085 shares during the period. Finally, Invenomic Capital Management LP increased its stake in EZCORP by 55.7% during the 1st quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 1,229,705 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $18,101,000 after buying an additional 439,937 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.83% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on EZPW shares. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of EZCORP from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. One research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, EZCORP currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $18.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other EZCORP news, Director Matthew W. Appel sold 9,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.03, for a total transaction of $153,270.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 142,409 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,425,225.27. The trade was a 5.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.13% of the company's stock.

EZCORP Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:EZPW opened at $18.03 on Tuesday. The company's fifty day moving average is $15.66 and its 200-day moving average is $14.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 5.00 and a current ratio of 6.31. EZCORP, Inc. has a 52 week low of $10.56 and a 52 week high of $18.34. The company has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of 14.09 and a beta of 0.63.

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

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.

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