Azarias Capital Management L.P. Decreases Stake in EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW)

Azarias Capital Management L.P. reduced its stake in EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) by 46.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 532,171 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 453,454 shares during the period. EZCORP comprises 2.5% of Azarias Capital Management L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Azarias Capital Management L.P. owned 0.96% of EZCORP worth $6,029,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of EZPW. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of EZCORP by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,532,799 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $22,137,000 after buying an additional 228,013 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of EZCORP by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 2,510,414 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $21,941,000 after buying an additional 118,599 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of EZCORP by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 1,118,450 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,775,000 after buying an additional 110,650 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of EZCORP by 25.6% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 710,295 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,860,000 after buying an additional 144,641 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of EZCORP by 149.0% during the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 56,325 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $462,000 after buying an additional 33,701 shares during the period. 99.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

EZCORP Stock Down 0.8 %

EZCORP stock traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $10.25. The company had a trading volume of 215,165 shares, compared to its average volume of 416,706. The company has a current ratio of 4.17, a quick ratio of 3.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $10.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.11. EZCORP, Inc. has a 12 month low of $7.70 and a 12 month high of $11.52. The company has a market capitalization of $563.14 million, a PE ratio of 9.86 and a beta of 1.04.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last released its 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. EZCORP had a return on equity of 10.55% and a net margin of 7.05%. The business had revenue of $285.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $287.59 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.23 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that EZCORP, Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EZPW has been the topic of several research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on EZCORP from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. StockNews.com lowered EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 29th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Matthew W. Appel sold 26,490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.32, for a total transaction of $273,376.80. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 138,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,431,218.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

EZCORP 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.