Norges Bank Buys Shares of 251,000 EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 251,000 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,067,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 0.46% of EZCORP at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of EZPW. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of EZCORP by 97.0% during the fourth 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 period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in EZCORP in the 4th quarter worth $122,000. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in EZCORP by 39.3% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 14,430 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $176,000 after buying an additional 4,070 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of EZCORP during the fourth quarter worth about $186,000. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in EZCORP in the fourth quarter valued at about $188,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.83% of the company's stock.

EZCORP Price Performance

EZCORP stock traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $15.91. 220,268 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 598,736. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $14.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.77. The firm has a market cap of $873.80 million, a P/E ratio of 13.83 and a beta of 0.81. EZCORP, Inc. has a 1-year low of $9.66 and a 1-year high of $16.35. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The credit services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 forecast that EZCORP, Inc. will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EZPW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $13.50 target price on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Roth Mkm assumed coverage on 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 objective on shares of EZCORP from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of EZCORP from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $16.00 price objective on EZCORP in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $16.88.

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.