Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires New Position in EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 152,250 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,860,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.28% of EZCORP at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EZPW. Royce & Associates LP increased its holdings in EZCORP by 77.6% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 658,515 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $8,047,000 after purchasing an additional 287,818 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in EZCORP by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 595,870 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $6,683,000 after acquiring an additional 10,390 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of EZCORP by 38.6% in the fourth 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. Trexquant Investment LP grew its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 35.1% in the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 377,529 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,613,000 after purchasing an additional 98,090 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of EZCORP by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 343,445 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $4,197,000 after acquiring an additional 9,906 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.83% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on EZPW shares. Roth Capital set a $16.00 price target on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Monday, March 17th. StockNews.com upgraded EZCORP from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $13.50 price target on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Roth Mkm began coverage on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Monday, March 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $16.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of EZCORP from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $16.88.

EZCORP Stock Performance

EZPW traded down $0.02 during trading on Friday, hitting $15.65. 1,912,568 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 687,294. The firm has a market capitalization of $860.97 million, a P/E ratio of 13.61 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $14.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.20. The company has a quick ratio of 2.13, a current ratio of 2.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. EZCORP, Inc. has a 1-year low of $9.66 and a 1-year high of $16.60.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The credit services provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $306.32 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $310.35 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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.