EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) Shares Sold by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas decreased its position in EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW - Free Report) by 68.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 86,180 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 187,031 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned about 0.16% of EZCORP worth $1,269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 4.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 3,279 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 16.9% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,874 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 2,725 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 680.7% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 148,480 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,186,000 after acquiring an additional 129,460 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 40.9% in the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 213,681 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,145,000 after acquiring an additional 62,053 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of EZCORP in the first quarter valued at about $382,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.83% of the company's stock.

EZCORP Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EZPW traded up $0.27 on Wednesday, hitting $14.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 581,378 shares, compared to its average volume of 781,858. EZCORP, Inc. has a 12-month low of $9.91 and a 12-month high of $16.60. The company has a market capitalization of $782.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.95 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 4.04 and a quick ratio of 3.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $13.66 and a 200-day moving average of $13.81.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The credit services provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $310.35 million. As a group, research analysts predict that EZCORP, Inc. will post 1.3 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EZPW has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued 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 initiated coverage on shares of EZCORP in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of EZCORP from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $18.50.

Insider Activity

In other EZCORP news, COO John Blair Jr. Powell sold 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.81, for a total value of $48,335.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 145,983 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,016,025.23. This represents a 2.34% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 86,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,220,010 over the last quarter. 2.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

EZCORP Company Profile

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.