EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) Stake Lessened by D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lessened its stake in shares of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW - Free Report) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,607,287 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 61,691 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned about 2.95% of EZCORP worth $19,641,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in EZCORP by 97.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,156 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,554 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in EZCORP during the fourth quarter valued at about $122,000. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in EZCORP by 39.3% during the fourth 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 period. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in EZCORP in the fourth quarter worth about $186,000. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in EZCORP in the fourth quarter worth about $188,000. Institutional investors own 99.83% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on EZPW shares. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on shares of EZCORP from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of EZCORP from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Roth Mkm began coverage on EZCORP in a report on Monday, March 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $16.00 price target on the stock. Roth Capital set a $16.00 price objective on EZCORP in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $13.50 target price on shares of EZCORP in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, EZCORP currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $17.38.

EZCORP Stock Performance

Shares of EZPW opened at $14.59 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $15.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.34. The stock has a market cap of $802.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.69 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.91 and a quick ratio of 2.13. EZCORP, Inc. has a one year low of $9.66 and a one year high of $16.60.

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

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.

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