L & S Advisors Inc Takes Position in EZCORP, Inc. $EZPW

L & S Advisors Inc purchased a new position in shares of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 99,845 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,939,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EZPW. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position 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 valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in EZCORP by 0.9% during the 2nd 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 during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its stake in shares of EZCORP by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 18,173 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $353,000 after buying an additional 685 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,146 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 724 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 80,959 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,541,000 after buying an additional 860 shares during the period. 99.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at EZCORP

In other news, insider Ellen H. Bryant sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $500,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 147,786 shares in the company, valued at $3,694,650. This trade represents a 11.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CRO Nicole Swies sold 24,138 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total value of $597,415.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive owned 115,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,852,833.50. The trade was a 17.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 104,138 shares of company stock worth $2,773,616 in the last three months. 2.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

EZCORP Stock Performance

Shares of EZPW stock opened at $33.00 on Monday. EZCORP, Inc. has a twelve month low of $12.85 and a twelve month high of $37.13. The company has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.93 and a beta of 0.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $28.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.78. The company has a current ratio of 4.71, a quick ratio of 3.52 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $434.90 million during the quarter. EZCORP had a net margin of 9.91% and a return on equity of 13.45%. Research analysts forecast that EZCORP, Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EZPW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citizens Jmp upped their price objective on EZCORP from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen raised EZCORP from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Stephens upped their price target on shares of EZCORP from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of EZCORP in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of EZCORP from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Two investment 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 company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price 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.