Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 34,476 Shares of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) by 11.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 264,954 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 34,476 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.48% of EZCORP worth $3,002,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EZPW. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in EZCORP by 48.0% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,011,204 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $11,457,000 after purchasing an additional 327,912 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of EZCORP by 2.4% during the first quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,593,128 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $29,380,000 after acquiring an additional 60,329 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 63.9% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,412 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 4,451 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its stake in shares of EZCORP by 33.5% in the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 48,335 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $548,000 after purchasing an additional 12,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perritt Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of EZCORP by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Perritt Capital Management Inc. now owns 83,300 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $728,000 after purchasing an additional 7,000 shares during the last quarter. 99.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

EZCORP Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EZPW traded down $0.19 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $10.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 96,463 shares, compared to its average volume of 531,168. EZCORP, Inc. has a 12-month low of $7.70 and a 12-month high of $11.52. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $10.33 and a 200-day moving average of $10.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $552.70 million, a P/E 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $287.59 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.23 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that EZCORP, Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other EZCORP news, Director Matthew W. Appel sold 26,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.32, for a total transaction of $273,376.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 138,684 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,431,218.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on EZPW shares. StockNews.com cut shares of EZCORP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on shares of EZCORP from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 3rd.

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.