Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $228,000 Stake in EZCORP, Inc. $EZPW

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its stake in EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) by 11.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,459 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,023 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in EZCORP were worth $228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 60.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,062 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 1,906 shares in the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in EZCORP in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $138,000. Carnegie Investment Counsel bought a new stake in EZCORP in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Teza Capital Management LLC boosted its position in EZCORP by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 14,425 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $176,000 after acquiring an additional 896 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in EZCORP by 39.3% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 14,430 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $176,000 after acquiring an additional 4,070 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at EZCORP

In other news, COO John Blair Jr. Powell sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.26, for a total value of $132,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 149,483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,982,144.58. This represents a 6.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EZPW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of EZCORP in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of EZCORP from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Friday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.50.

EZCORP Stock Performance

EZPW opened at $15.57 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 5.00, a current ratio of 6.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. EZCORP, Inc. has a 12-month low of $10.56 and a 12-month high of $16.60. The business has a 50 day moving average of $14.13 and a 200-day moving average of $14.23. The stock has a market cap of $948.21 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.16 and a beta of 0.56.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.10. EZCORP had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 7.96%.The business had revenue of $310.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $302.25 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that EZCORP, Inc. will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current year.

EZCORP Company Profile

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.