Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Decreases Position in EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) by 50.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 125,803 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 127,900 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned about 0.23% of EZCORP worth $1,537,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of EZCORP in the fourth quarter valued at $865,000. Invenomic Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in EZCORP in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,122,000. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in EZCORP by 11.3% in 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 during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of EZCORP by 37.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 236,747 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,654,000 after buying an additional 64,926 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of EZCORP by 107.2% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 37,439 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $428,000 after buying an additional 19,368 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EZPW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Roth Capital set a $16.00 target price on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on EZCORP from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded EZCORP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 29th. Roth Mkm started coverage on EZCORP in a report on Monday, March 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $16.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $13.50 price target on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.88.

EZCORP Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ EZPW opened at $15.32 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $841.67 million, a PE ratio of 13.32 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.91, a quick ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. EZCORP, Inc. has a 12-month low of $9.66 and a 12-month high of $16.35. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.43.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The credit services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) 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 expect that EZCORP, Inc. will post 1.3 EPS 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.