EZCORP, Inc. $EZPW Stock: Triasima Portfolio Management inc. Decreases Position

Key Points

• Triasima Portfolio Management reduced its EZCORP stake by 17.3% in the third quarter, selling 30,857 shares and retaining 147,293 shares valued at approximately $4.4 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high at 99.83%, with several investors increasing their positions, including Assenagon Asset Management, which expanded its stake by 178.2%.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with six Buy ratings and two Holds, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $39. EZCORP also exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $0.47 versus the $0.41 consensus.

Triasima Portfolio Management inc. lessened its stake in EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW - Free Report) by 17.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 147,293 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 30,857 shares during the period. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. owned about 0.24% of EZCORP worth $4,383,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in EZCORP by 178.2% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 696,826 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $20,738,000 after acquiring an additional 446,343 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in EZCORP by 50.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 457,861 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $11,621,000 after purchasing an additional 153,770 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in EZCORP by 3.4% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 282,923 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $7,181,000 after purchasing an additional 9,363 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in EZCORP by 10.8% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 193,627 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,914,000 after purchasing an additional 18,943 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC lifted its position in EZCORP by 634.5% in the first quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC now owns 189,239 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,803,000 after purchasing an additional 163,476 shares during the last quarter. 99.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity at EZCORP

In related news, insider Ellen Bryant sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.77, for a total value of $1,043,100.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 117,786 shares in the company, valued at $4,095,419.22. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

EZCORP Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:EZPW opened at $33.13 on Friday. 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 1 year low of $16.50 and a 1 year high of $37.13. The company has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a PE ratio of 16.87 and a beta of 0.71. The stock's 50-day moving average is $31.25 and its 200 day moving average is $31.42.

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

EZCORP Profile

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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