New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Invests $849,000 in EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 69,480 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $849,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC bought a new position in shares of EZCORP during the third quarter valued at approximately $8,372,000. Royce & Associates LP increased its position in EZCORP by 77.6% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 658,515 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $8,047,000 after buying an additional 287,818 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in EZCORP by 449.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 333,539 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,739,000 after buying an additional 272,815 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in EZCORP in the fourth quarter worth $3,067,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in shares of EZCORP by 25.0% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,009,770 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $11,320,000 after acquiring an additional 201,700 shares during the last quarter. 99.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EZPW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $13.50 price target on shares of EZCORP in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of EZCORP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Roth Capital set a $16.00 price target on shares of EZCORP in a report on Monday, March 17th. Roth Mkm began coverage on shares of EZCORP in a report on Monday, March 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $16.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on EZCORP from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.88.

EZCORP Stock Performance

Shares of EZPW stock opened at $14.72 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $808.70 million, a PE ratio of 12.80 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $13.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.37. EZCORP, Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.66 and a 52 week high of $15.35. 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) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The credit services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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.