Burney Co. Acquires New Position in EZCORP, Inc. $EZPW

Burney Co. acquired a new position in shares of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 71,006 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,802,000. Burney Co. owned approximately 0.12% of EZCORP at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EZPW. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 15,960 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 569 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers boosted 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 purchasing an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its holdings in EZCORP by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 18,173 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $353,000 after purchasing an additional 685 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in EZCORP by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,146 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ellsworth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of EZCORP by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 44,792 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $965,000 after buying an additional 971 shares in the last quarter. 99.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

EZCORP Stock Down 9.3%

EZPW opened at $32.16 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 4.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.48 and a beta of 0.64. EZCORP, Inc. has a 52 week low of $13.07 and a 52 week high of $37.13. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.46.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The credit services provider reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.22. The firm 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that EZCORP, Inc. will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at EZCORP

In other EZCORP news, Director Jason A. Kulas sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.56, for a total value of $671,200.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 172,948 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,804,134.88. This trade represents a 10.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Pablo Lagos Espinosa sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total value of $320,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 217,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,961,376. The trade was a 4.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on EZPW. Zacks Research raised EZCORP from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $44.00 target price on shares of EZCORP in a report on Friday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of EZCORP from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citizens Jmp upped their price target on shares of EZCORP from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.80.

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.