SG Americas Securities LLC Purchases 19,304 Shares of EZCORP, Inc. $EZPW

SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) by 88.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 41,063 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,304 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in EZCORP were worth $1,042,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP grew its position in EZCORP by 39.5% in the 3rd quarter. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP now owns 138,505 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,637,000 after purchasing an additional 39,195 shares in the last quarter. Miller Global Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of EZCORP during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,451,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of EZCORP by 163.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 483,211 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,200,000 after buying an additional 299,920 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of EZCORP in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,207,000. Finally, L & S Advisors Inc purchased a new position in shares of EZCORP in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,939,000. 99.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on EZPW shares. Zacks Research raised EZCORP from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded EZCORP from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Citizens Jmp upped their price objective on EZCORP from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $44.00 target price on EZCORP in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $37.25.

Insider Activity at EZCORP

In related news, Director Pablo Lagos Espinosa sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total transaction of $320,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 217,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,961,376. This represents a 4.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jason A. Kulas sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.56, for a total transaction of $671,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 172,948 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,804,134.88. This trade represents a 10.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

EZCORP Stock Performance

Shares of EZPW opened at $35.59 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $32.61 and a 200 day moving average of $27.11. EZCORP, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $13.07 and a fifty-two week high of $37.13. The firm has a market cap of $2.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.34 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a current ratio of 4.71.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The credit services provider reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $434.90 million for the quarter. EZCORP had a net margin of 9.91% and a return on equity of 13.45%. As a group, research analysts forecast that EZCORP, Inc. will post 2 EPS for the current year.

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.