EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) Shares Bought by Royce & Associates LP

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP increased its holdings in EZCORP, Inc. by 14.1%, owning 751,515 shares worth approximately $11.06 million after purchasing an additional 93,000 shares in the first quarter.
• Analysts have given EZCORP a consensus rating of "Buy" with an average price target of $18.50, following several research reports that upgraded the company's ratings.
• Insiders at EZCORP sold 86,000 shares over the last 90 days, while COO John Blair Jr. Powell sold 3,500 shares, reducing his ownership to 145,983 shares valued at over $2 million.

Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in shares of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW - Free Report) by 14.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 751,515 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 93,000 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned about 1.37% of EZCORP worth $11,062,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EZPW. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of EZCORP by 60.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,062 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 1,906 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of EZCORP in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $122,000. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in EZCORP during the 4th quarter worth approximately $138,000. Carnegie Investment Counsel acquired a new position in shares of EZCORP in the 1st quarter valued at $205,000. Finally, Teza Capital Management LLC grew its position in EZCORP by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 14,425 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $176,000 after purchasing an additional 896 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.83% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of EZCORP in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of EZCORP from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of EZCORP in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of EZCORP from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Two investment 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $18.50.

Insider Transactions at EZCORP

In related news, COO John Blair Jr. Powell sold 42,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.55, for a total transaction of $618,375.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 189,483 shares in the company, valued at $2,756,977.65. This represents a 18.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 corporate insiders.

EZCORP Trading Up 0.2%

EZCORP stock traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $13.42. The stock had a trading volume of 180,709 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,011,849. 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 $10.03 and a 12 month high of $16.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $738.01 million, a PE ratio of 11.27 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.93.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $306.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $310.35 million. EZCORP had a return on equity of 11.53% and a net margin of 7.45%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that EZCORP, Inc. will post 1.3 EPS 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.