Teacher Retirement System of Texas Raises Holdings in EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) by 25.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 273,211 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 54,595 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in EZCORP were worth $3,339,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC acquired a new stake in shares of EZCORP during the third quarter worth $8,372,000. Royce & Associates LP lifted 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 worth $8,047,000 after acquiring an additional 287,818 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in EZCORP by 449.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 333,539 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,739,000 after purchasing an additional 272,815 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings 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 valued at $11,320,000 after purchasing an additional 201,700 shares during the period. Finally, Invenomic Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of EZCORP in the third quarter worth about $2,122,000. 99.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on EZCORP from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $13.50 price objective on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Roth Capital set a $16.00 target price on shares of EZCORP in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Roth Mkm initiated coverage on shares of EZCORP in a report on Monday, March 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $16.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $16.88.

EZCORP Price Performance

NASDAQ:EZPW opened at $14.88 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $13.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.27. EZCORP, Inc. has a 1-year low of $9.66 and a 1-year high of $15.00. The firm has a market cap of $817.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.94 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.91 and a quick ratio of 2.13.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last issued its quarterly 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that EZCORP, Inc. will post 1.3 EPS for the current year.

About EZCORP

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.