Stephens Investment Management Group LLC Lowers Stock Position in EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW)

Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lessened its holdings in EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,670,288 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 56,285 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC owned approximately 3.04% of EZCORP worth $24,587,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EZPW. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of EZCORP during the first quarter valued at approximately $8,310,000. Alps Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of EZCORP during the first quarter valued at approximately $383,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of EZCORP by 3.4% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 255,338 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,759,000 after purchasing an additional 8,451 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of EZCORP by 4.3% during the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 80,099 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,179,000 after purchasing an additional 3,279 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of EZCORP by 16.9% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,874 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 2,725 shares during the last quarter. 99.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of EZCORP from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of EZCORP from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $17.00 price objective on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, EZCORP has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $18.50.

Insider Transactions at EZCORP

In other EZCORP news, COO John Blair Jr. Powell sold 42,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.55, for a total value of $618,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 189,483 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,756,977.65. This represents a 18.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 86,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,220,010. Corporate insiders own 2.13% of the company's stock.

EZCORP Stock Performance

Shares of EZPW stock traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $14.23. 851,587 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 785,110. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 3.25 and a current ratio of 4.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $782.79 million, a P/E ratio of 11.96 and a beta of 0.52. EZCORP, Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.91 and a 52 week high of $16.60. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $13.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.83.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The credit services provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.02. EZCORP had a net margin of 7.45% and a return on equity of 11.53%. The company had revenue of $306.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $310.35 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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.