Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 313,374 Shares of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW)

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its stake in EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW - Free Report) by 8.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,265,706 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 313,374 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 5.97% of EZCORP worth $26,942,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP purchased a new position in EZCORP in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in EZCORP by 128.8% in the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,418 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,924 shares during the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in EZCORP by 3,041.0% in the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 3,675 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 3,558 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in EZCORP by 3,041.0% in the first quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,675 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 3,558 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in EZCORP by 2,053.5% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,307 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 4,107 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.83% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on EZPW. StockNews.com downgraded EZCORP from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 29th. TheStreet raised EZCORP from a "c+" rating to a "b-" rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CRO Nicole Swies sold 2,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.38, for a total value of $25,605.00. Following the sale, the executive now owns 71,458 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $813,192.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

EZCORP Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EZPW traded down $0.41 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $10.85. 639,178 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 447,724. The company has a quick ratio of 3.08, a current ratio of 4.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.23. EZCORP, Inc. has a 52 week low of $7.70 and a 52 week high of $11.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $598.38 million, a P/E ratio of 17.22 and a beta of 1.15.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.07. EZCORP had a return on equity of 10.37% and a net margin of 4.62%. The company had revenue of $299.99 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $303.66 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that EZCORP, Inc. will post 1.05 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.