EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) Insider Sells $500,000.00 in Stock

EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) insider Ellen Bryant sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total value of $500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 147,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,694,650. The trade was a 11.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

EZCORP Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of EZCORP stock traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $25.08. The company had a trading volume of 473,587 shares, compared to its average volume of 998,362. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $21.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.01. EZCORP, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $12.85 and a fifty-two week high of $26.35. The firm has a market cap of $1.55 billion, a PE ratio of 16.08 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 6.03 and a quick ratio of 4.69.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.15. EZCORP had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 12.37%. The firm had revenue of $374.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $363.63 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that EZCORP, Inc. will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EZPW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens increased their price target on EZCORP from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $34.00 price target on EZCORP in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Citizens Jmp lifted their price objective on shares of EZCORP from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Zacks Research raised shares of EZCORP from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 23.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 19,375 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 3,705 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in EZCORP during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,646,000. R Squared Ltd raised its stake in shares of EZCORP by 35.2% in the second quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 31,055 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 8,085 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 21.2% in the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 88,118 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,223,000 after purchasing an additional 15,391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ingalls & Snyder LLC boosted its position in shares of EZCORP by 46.1% during the second quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 16,678 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 5,262 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.83% of the company’s stock.

About EZCORP

EZCORP, Inc is a specialty consumer finance company that provides pawn loans and retail merchandise programs primarily through its EZPAWN and Cash Converters brands. The company offers collateral-based loans secured principally by jewelry, electronics, musical instruments and other personal items, alongside check-cashing, money-transfer and bill-payment services. In addition to its pawn lending operations, EZCORP acquires previously pawned or consumer merchandise for resale through its “Sell-It-Now” platform and retail storefronts.

Founded in 1989 and headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, EZCORP operates in two principal geographic markets: the United States and Mexico.