Harbour Capital Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 60,180 EZCORP, Inc. $EZPW

Harbour Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 60,180 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,207,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in EZPW. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of EZCORP in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in EZCORP by 239.3% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,728 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,924 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in EZCORP by 15,019.0% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,175 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 3,154 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in EZCORP by 126.3% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,422 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,910 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in EZCORP by 913.5% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,216 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 3,800 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on EZPW shares. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Stephens increased their target price on EZCORP from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of EZCORP in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded EZCORP from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $28.00.

EZCORP Stock Performance

EZCORP stock opened at $25.44 on Friday. EZCORP, Inc. has a 12-month low of $12.85 and a 12-month high of $27.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 6.03 and a quick ratio of 4.69. The company has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.31 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $24.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.58.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $374.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $363.63 million. EZCORP had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 12.37%. On average, research analysts forecast that EZCORP, Inc. will post 1.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gary Tillett sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.50, for a total value of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 133,483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,403,816.50. This represents a 6.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CRO Nicole Swies sold 24,138 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total value of $597,415.50. Following the sale, the executive owned 115,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,852,833.50. This trade represents a 17.32% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 84,138 shares of company stock worth $2,102,416. Company insiders own 2.13% 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.