Royce & Associates LP Sells 16,085 Shares of EZCORP, Inc. $EZPW

Royce & Associates LP cut its position in EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 584,046 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 16,085 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in EZCORP were worth $11,342,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in EZCORP by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 15,960 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in EZCORP by 0.9% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 73,064 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,014,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its holdings in EZCORP by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 18,173 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 685 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in EZCORP by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,146 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ellsworth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in EZCORP by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 44,792 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $965,000 after purchasing an additional 971 shares in the last quarter. 99.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jason A. Kulas sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.56, for a total value of $671,200.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 172,948 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,804,134.88. This represents a 10.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

EZCORP Stock Performance

EZPW opened at $33.41 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $30.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.65. The company has a market cap of $2.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.16 and a beta of 0.65. EZCORP, Inc. has a 52-week low of $12.85 and a 52-week high of $37.13. The company has a quick ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 4.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The credit services provider reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.22. EZCORP had a net margin of 9.91% and a return on equity of 13.45%. The company had revenue of $434.90 million for the quarter. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that EZCORP, Inc. will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on EZPW shares. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of EZCORP in a report on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of EZCORP from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of EZCORP from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of EZCORP in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Citizens Jmp upped their price objective on shares of EZCORP from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.25.

EZCORP Profile

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.