JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Stock Position in EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW - Free Report) by 38.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 590,016 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 164,260 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 1.08% of EZCORP worth $7,210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 4,070 shares during the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in EZCORP during the 4th quarter worth approximately $188,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of EZCORP in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $122,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 25.0% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 273,211 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,339,000 after purchasing an additional 54,595 shares during the period. Finally, Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in shares of EZCORP by 77.6% during the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 658,515 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $8,047,000 after purchasing an additional 287,818 shares during the last quarter. 99.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

EZCORP Price Performance

EZPW stock traded up $0.29 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $16.05. 1,313,213 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 622,400. EZCORP, Inc. has a 52-week low of $9.66 and a 52-week high of $16.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.13 and a current ratio of 2.91. The company has a market cap of $881.77 million, a P/E ratio of 13.96 and a beta of 0.81. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $14.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.93.

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