Triasima Portfolio Management inc. Purchases New Stake in EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW)

Triasima Portfolio Management inc. acquired a new position in shares of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 50,020 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $736,000. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. owned about 0.09% of EZCORP at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC boosted its position in EZCORP by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 2,002,197 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $24,467,000 after acquiring an additional 310,706 shares during the period. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP lifted 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 buying an additional 1,177,166 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 23.9% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,195,784 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $14,612,000 after buying an additional 231,018 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,022,570 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $12,496,000 after buying an additional 12,800 shares during the period. Finally, Invenomic Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 317.1% in the fourth quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 789,768 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $9,651,000 after buying an additional 600,435 shares during the period. 99.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO John Blair Jr. Powell sold 42,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.55, for a total transaction of $618,375.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 189,483 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,756,977.65. The trade was a 18.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold 86,000 shares of company stock worth $1,220,010 over the last quarter. 2.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

EZCORP Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ EZPW traded down $0.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $13.98. 552,302 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 785,099. EZCORP, Inc. has a 1 year low of $9.91 and a 1 year high of $16.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $769.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.18 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 3.25, a current ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The business has a 50 day moving average of $13.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.84.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The credit services provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. EZCORP had a return on equity of 11.53% and a net margin of 7.45%. The business had revenue of $306.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $310.35 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that EZCORP, Inc. will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.