Royce & Associates LP Raises Holdings in EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW)

Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) by 77.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 658,515 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 287,818 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned about 1.21% of EZCORP worth $8,047,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new position in EZCORP in the fourth quarter worth approximately $865,000. Invenomic Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of EZCORP in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,122,000. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of EZCORP during the 3rd quarter worth $662,000. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of EZCORP by 11.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 92,166 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,033,000 after purchasing an additional 9,328 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in EZCORP in the third quarter valued at $918,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.83% of the company’s stock.

EZCORP Trading Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ:EZPW opened at $13.95 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $766.40 million, a PE ratio of 12.13 and a beta of 0.89. EZCORP, Inc. has a 52-week low of $9.66 and a 52-week high of $14.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $13.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.18. 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 (NASDAQ:EZPW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The credit services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.07. EZCORP had a net margin of 7.25% and a return on equity of 11.04%. On average, research analysts anticipate that EZCORP, Inc. will post 1.3 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Roth Mkm initiated coverage on EZCORP in a research report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $16.00 price objective for the company. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $13.50 price target on shares of EZCORP in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of EZCORP from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $16.00 price objective on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has 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. According to data from MarketBeat, EZCORP has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.88.

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.