Ritholtz Wealth Management Takes Position in EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW)

Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 25,954 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $382,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 1,699.2% in the fourth quarter. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP now owns 1,246,445 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $15,232,000 after purchasing an additional 1,177,166 shares during the period. Invenomic Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 317.1% during the fourth quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 789,768 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $9,651,000 after purchasing an additional 600,435 shares during the period. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC grew its position in EZCORP by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 2,002,197 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $24,467,000 after buying an additional 310,706 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in EZCORP by 77.6% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 658,515 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $8,047,000 after buying an additional 287,818 shares during the period. Finally, Bastion Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in EZCORP in the 4th quarter valued at $3,054,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.83% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other EZCORP news, COO John Blair Jr. Powell sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.17, for a total value of $283,400.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 169,483 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,401,574.11. This represents a 10.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 86,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,220,010. 2.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EZPW has been the topic of several analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of EZCORP from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of EZCORP from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Roth Mkm initiated coverage on EZCORP in a report on Monday, March 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $16.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $16.00 price target on EZCORP in a report on Monday, March 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $18.25.

EZCORP Price Performance

Shares of EZPW traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $13.25. The company had a trading volume of 1,670,513 shares, compared to its average volume of 761,092. The company has a current ratio of 4.04, a quick ratio of 3.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. EZCORP, Inc. has a 12-month low of $9.66 and a 12-month high of $16.60. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.61. The company has a market capitalization of $728.88 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.13 and a beta of 0.53.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The credit services provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $306.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $310.35 million. EZCORP had a net margin of 7.45% and a return on equity of 11.53%. Research analysts expect that EZCORP, Inc. will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current year.

About EZCORP

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.