EZCORP, Inc. $EZPW Shares Acquired by California State Teachers Retirement System

California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) by 38.6% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 70,725 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,708 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in EZCORP were worth $1,795,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EZPW. Sigma Planning Corp lifted its stake in EZCORP by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 13,707 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $348,000 after buying an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in EZCORP by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 15,960 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in EZCORP by 0.9% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 73,064 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,014,000 after buying an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in EZCORP by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,146 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 724 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 3.8% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 30,205 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $767,000 after acquiring an additional 1,101 shares during the last quarter. 99.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Pablo Lagos Espinosa sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.54, for a total transaction of $355,400.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 207,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,376,078.22. This represents a 4.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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. Company insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

EZCORP Trading Up 7.2%

Shares of EZCORP stock opened at $28.91 on Thursday. EZCORP, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $15.42 and a fifty-two week high of $37.13. The firm has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a PE ratio of 14.60 and a beta of 0.66. The business’s fifty day moving average is $31.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.22. The company has a quick ratio of 3.45, a current ratio of 4.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The credit services provider reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $408.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $425.83 million. EZCORP had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 9.97%. Analysts anticipate that EZCORP, Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on EZPW. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on EZCORP from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $44.00 price objective on EZCORP in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Citizens Jmp raised their price target on shares of EZCORP from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.80.

EZCORP Company 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.