Ritholtz Wealth Management Has $918,000 Stock Position in EZCORP, Inc. $EZPW

Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its position in EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) by 154.9% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 66,144 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 40,190 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in EZCORP were worth $918,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 60,614 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $901,000 after buying an additional 3,792 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in EZCORP by 680.7% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 148,480 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,186,000 after buying an additional 129,460 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in EZCORP by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 255,338 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,759,000 after buying an additional 8,451 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. bought a new position in EZCORP in the 2nd quarter valued at $168,000. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in EZCORP by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 80,099 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,179,000 after buying an additional 3,279 shares during the last quarter. 99.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

EZCORP Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EZPW opened at $18.55 on Friday. EZCORP, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $11.09 and a fifty-two week high of $19.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 6.31 and a quick ratio of 5.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.49 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a 50-day moving average of $17.37 and a 200-day moving average of $15.38.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.10. EZCORP had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 7.96%.The business had revenue of $310.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $302.25 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that EZCORP, Inc. will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on EZPW shares. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on EZCORP from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Matthew W. Appel sold 9,038 shares of EZCORP stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.02, for a total transaction of $162,864.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 133,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,403,345.42. This trade represents a 6.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

EZCORP Company Profile

EZCORP, Inc provides pawn services in the United States and Latin America. The company operates through three segments: U.S. Pawn, Latin America Pawn, and Other Investments. The company offers pawn loans collateralized by tangible personal property, jewelry, consumer electronics, tools, sporting goods, and musical instruments.