North Star Investment Management Corp. Takes $1.78 Million Position in EZCORP, Inc. $EZPW

North Star Investment Management Corp. purchased a new position in shares of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPWFree Report) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 70,000 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,777,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in EZPW. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in EZCORP in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in EZCORP during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in EZCORP by 533.5% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,667 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 2,246 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in EZCORP by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,146 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA acquired a new position in EZCORP in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $233,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.83% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jason A. Kulas sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 $5,804,134.88. The trade was a 10.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Pablo Lagos Espinosa sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 $6,961,376. This trade represents a 4.39% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 2.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EZPW has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of EZCORP from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of EZCORP in a report on Friday, May 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $44.00 target price on EZCORP in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Zacks Research raised EZCORP from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.25.

Read Our Latest Report on EZCORP

EZCORP Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EZPW opened at $33.32 on Tuesday. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $13.07 and a fifty-two week high of $37.13. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.75. The company has a market capitalization of $2.05 billion, a PE ratio of 18.11 and a beta of 0.63.

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

About EZCORP

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW)

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