EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) Shares Sold by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund trimmed its position in shares of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 28,690 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,548 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in EZCORP were worth $351,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in EZCORP by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,084,777 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $12,160,000 after acquiring an additional 2,809 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,009,770 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $11,320,000 after purchasing an additional 201,700 shares during the period. Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC acquired a new stake in EZCORP during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $8,372,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in EZCORP by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 595,870 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,683,000 after purchasing an additional 10,390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in EZCORP by 25.4% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 476,896 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,346,000 after buying an additional 96,630 shares during the period. 99.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on EZPW shares. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of EZCORP from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $13.50 price target on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Thursday, February 6th.

EZCORP Stock Performance

EZCORP stock opened at $13.28 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $729.59 million, a PE ratio of 11.55 and a beta of 0.89. EZCORP, Inc. has a one year low of $9.65 and a one year high of $14.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $12.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.13 and a current ratio of 2.91.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The credit services provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.07. EZCORP had a net margin of 7.25% and a return on equity of 11.04%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that EZCORP, Inc. will post 1.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at EZCORP

In related news, CRO Nicole Swies sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.47, for a total value of $124,700.00. Following the transaction, the executive now owns 101,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,269,608.11. The trade was a 8.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About EZCORP

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.