EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,230,000 shares, a growth of 6.7% from the May 31st total of 7,710,000 shares. Approximately 16.5% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 538,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 15.3 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EZPW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on shares of EZCORP from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. StockNews.com cut EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 29th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other EZCORP news, Director Matthew W. Appel sold 26,490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.32, for a total value of $273,376.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 138,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,431,218.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of EZPW. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of EZCORP by 59.5% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 843,105 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,553,000 after purchasing an additional 314,435 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp acquired a new position in EZCORP during the first quarter worth $539,000. Caxton Associates LP bought a new stake in EZCORP during the first quarter worth $436,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in EZCORP in the first quarter valued at $441,000. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in shares of EZCORP in the 1st quarter valued at about $474,000. 99.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

EZCORP Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of EZPW stock traded down $0.08 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $10.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 215,165 shares, compared to its average volume of 534,591. EZCORP has a one year low of $7.70 and a one year high of $11.52. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $10.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.11. The company has a market cap of $563.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.86 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 3.23, a current ratio of 4.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $285.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $287.59 million. EZCORP had a net margin of 7.05% and a return on equity of 10.55%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.23 EPS. Analysts anticipate that EZCORP will post 1.11 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.