Inspire Investing LLC Buys Shares of 59,580 EZCORP, Inc. $EZPW

Inspire Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 59,580 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,134,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EZPW. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in EZCORP in the 2nd quarter valued at $7,104,000. Invenomic Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of EZCORP by 55.7% during the first quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 1,229,705 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $18,101,000 after purchasing an additional 439,937 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its stake in shares of EZCORP by 70.2% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,063,677 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $14,764,000 after purchasing an additional 438,542 shares during the period. Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of EZCORP in the second quarter worth about $5,939,000. Finally, HRT Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 471.5% in the second quarter. HRT Financial LP now owns 404,006 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,607,000 after purchasing an additional 333,317 shares during the last quarter. 99.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities set a $23.00 price objective on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Citizens Jmp began coverage on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. They set a “market outperform” rating and a $23.00 price target for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on EZCORP from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of EZCORP in a report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of EZCORP in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.50.

EZCORP Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EZPW opened at $20.25 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $18.86 and a 200 day moving average of $16.78. The company has a quick ratio of 4.37, a current ratio of 5.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.36 and a beta of 0.52. EZCORP, Inc. has a 52 week low of $11.60 and a 52 week high of $21.49.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The credit services provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $335.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $325.09 million. EZCORP had a return on equity of 12.00% and a net margin of 8.60%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that EZCORP, Inc. will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.