D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Sells 61,691 Shares of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. decreased its holdings in EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW - Free Report) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund 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 2.95% of EZCORP worth $19,641,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EZPW. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of EZCORP during the 4th quarter valued at about $122,000. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in shares of EZCORP by 39.3% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 14,430 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $176,000 after purchasing an additional 4,070 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of EZCORP during the 4th quarter valued at about $186,000. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of EZCORP during the 4th quarter valued at about $188,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.83% of the company's stock.

EZCORP Price Performance

EZPW stock traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $13.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,174,877 shares, compared to its average volume of 723,599. EZCORP, Inc. has a 12 month low of $9.66 and a 12 month high of $16.60. The company has a quick ratio of 2.13, a current ratio of 2.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $768.00 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.14 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50 day moving average of $15.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.40.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. EZCORP had a return on equity of 11.04% and a net margin of 7.25%. The business had revenue of $306.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $310.35 million. On average, analysts expect that EZCORP, Inc. will post 1.3 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on EZPW shares. Roth Capital set a $16.00 target price on shares of EZCORP in a report on Monday, March 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on shares of EZCORP from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of EZCORP from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $13.50 price target on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, BTIG Research initiated coverage on EZCORP in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Two investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, EZCORP presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $17.38.

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.