Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Invests $714,000 in EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 58,401 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $714,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. owned 0.11% of EZCORP at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in EZCORP in the fourth quarter valued at about $122,000. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in EZCORP by 39.3% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 14,430 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $176,000 after buying an additional 4,070 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in EZCORP in the fourth quarter valued at about $186,000. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in EZCORP in the fourth quarter valued at about $188,000. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in EZCORP in the fourth quarter valued at about $197,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.83% of the company's stock.

EZCORP Stock Down 0.9%

EZPW stock traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $13.78. The company had a trading volume of 60,202 shares, compared to its average volume of 720,872. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.91 and a quick ratio of 2.13. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.42. The company has a market capitalization of $758.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.96 and a beta of 0.59. EZCORP, Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.66 and a 52 week high of $16.60.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The credit services provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $306.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $310.35 million. EZCORP had a return on equity of 11.04% and a net margin of 7.25%. As a group, equities analysts predict that EZCORP, Inc. will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on EZPW shares. BTIG Research started coverage on EZCORP in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on EZCORP from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Roth Capital set a $16.00 price objective on EZCORP in a report on Monday, March 17th. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $17.00 price objective on shares of EZCORP in a report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded EZCORP from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $18.25.

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.