EZCORP, Inc. $EZPW Shares Sold by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Sterling Capital Management cut its EZCORP position by 57.8% in the first quarter, selling 51,503 shares and leaving it with 37,663 shares worth about $956,000.
• Several other institutional investors increased or initiated positions in EZCORP, while institutional ownership remains very high at 99.83% of the stock.
• Insiders sold shares as well: directors Jason A. Kulas and Pablo Lagos Espinosa both reduced their holdings, even as analysts maintained a generally bullish view with an average rating of Buy and a $37.25 price target.

Sterling Capital Management LLC reduced its position in EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW - Free Report) by 57.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 37,663 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 51,503 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC owned about 0.06% of EZCORP worth $956,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in EZCORP in the first quarter valued at approximately $660,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 37.2% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 30,922 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $785,000 after purchasing an additional 8,378 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 88.7% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 41,063 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,042,000 after purchasing an additional 19,304 shares during the last quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of EZCORP by 12.1% during the 1st quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC now owns 21,734 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $552,000 after buying an additional 2,351 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of EZCORP by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 35,444 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $691,000 after buying an additional 3,261 shares during the period. 99.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other EZCORP news, Director Jason A. Kulas sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.56, for a total transaction of $671,200.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 172,948 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,804,134.88. This trade represents a 10.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Pablo Lagos Espinosa sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total value of $320,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 217,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,961,376. The trade was a 4.39% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 2.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on EZPW. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $44.00 price objective on EZCORP in a report on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research raised EZCORP from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen cut EZCORP from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $37.25.

EZCORP Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EZPW opened at $34.57 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $32.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 4.71 and a quick ratio of 3.52. The stock has a market cap of $2.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.79 and a beta of 0.63. EZCORP, Inc. has a 1-year low of $13.07 and a 1-year high of $37.13.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The credit services provider reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $434.90 million for the quarter. EZCORP had a return on equity of 13.45% and a net margin of 9.91%. On average, research analysts expect that EZCORP, Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EZCORP Profile

EZCORP, Inc is a specialty consumer finance company that provides pawn loans and retail merchandise programs primarily through its EZPAWN and Cash Converters brands. The company offers collateral-based loans secured principally by jewelry, electronics, musical instruments and other personal items, alongside check-cashing, money-transfer and bill-payment services. In addition to its pawn lending operations, EZCORP acquires previously pawned or consumer merchandise for resale through its “Sell-It-Now” platform and retail storefronts.

Founded in 1989 and headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, EZCORP operates in two principal geographic markets: the United States and Mexico.

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