Renaissance Technologies LLC Sells 196,862 Shares of EZCORP, Inc. $EZPW

Renaissance Technologies LLC reduced its stake in shares of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) by 8.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,157,366 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 196,862 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 3.51% of EZCORP worth $54,754,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in EZCORP by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,563,724 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $69,209,000 after acquiring an additional 84,566 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in EZCORP by 47.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,167,748 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $61,518,000 after purchasing an additional 1,019,622 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its holdings in EZCORP by 5.4% in the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,321,138 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,217,000 after purchasing an additional 118,641 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in EZCORP by 28.5% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,975,421 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $37,612,000 after purchasing an additional 437,601 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of EZCORP by 8.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,246,427 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $23,732,000 after purchasing an additional 99,059 shares in the last quarter. 99.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EZPW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of EZCORP in a report on Monday, May 11th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on EZCORP from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded EZCORP from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Friday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.80.

EZCORP Price Performance

Shares of EZPW opened at $29.54 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.05 and a beta of 0.64. EZCORP, Inc. has a twelve month low of $13.07 and a twelve month high of $37.13. The company has a 50 day moving average of $32.54 and a 200-day moving average of $28.51. The company has a quick ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 4.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 13.45% and a net margin of 9.91%.The company had revenue of $434.90 million for the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that EZCORP, Inc. will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other EZCORP news, Director Jason A. Kulas sold 20,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 172,948 shares in the company, valued at $5,804,134.88. This trade represents a 10.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Pablo Lagos Espinosa sold 10,000 shares of EZCORP stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.54, for a total transaction of $355,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 207,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,376,078.22. This trade represents a 4.60% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 40,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,346,600. Corporate insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

EZCORP Company 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.