O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Buys Shares of 16,119 EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 16,119 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $197,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in EZCORP in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $849,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in EZCORP during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,067,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in EZCORP by 38.6% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 590,016 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $7,210,000 after purchasing an additional 164,260 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in EZCORP by 39.3% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 14,430 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $176,000 after buying an additional 4,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in EZCORP in the fourth quarter worth $188,000. 99.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on EZPW. Roth Capital set a $16.00 price target on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Roth Mkm assumed coverage on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Monday, March 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $16.00 target price for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on EZCORP from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $13.50 price target on shares of EZCORP in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded EZCORP from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, EZCORP has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $16.88.

EZCORP Trading Up 0.8 %

EZPW traded up $0.13 during trading on Friday, reaching $15.93. The company had a trading volume of 1,170,979 shares, compared to its average volume of 605,210. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.13 and a current ratio of 2.91. EZCORP, Inc. has a 12-month low of $9.66 and a 12-month high of $16.35. The company has a market cap of $875.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.85 and a beta of 0.81. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $14.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.82.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The credit services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.07. EZCORP had a net margin of 7.25% and a return on equity of 11.04%. Equities research analysts anticipate that EZCORP, Inc. will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current year.

EZCORP Company 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.