Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Has $2.50 Million Stock Position in EZCORP, Inc. $EZPW

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its holdings in shares of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ:EZPW) by 24.8% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 180,130 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 35,758 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in EZCORP were worth $2,500,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EZPW. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of EZCORP in the second quarter valued at approximately $7,104,000. Invenomic Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in EZCORP by 55.7% during the 1st quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 1,229,705 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $18,101,000 after purchasing an additional 439,937 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its holdings in EZCORP by 70.2% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,063,677 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $14,764,000 after purchasing an additional 438,542 shares during the last quarter. Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC bought a new position in EZCORP during the second quarter worth $5,939,000. Finally, HRT Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of EZCORP by 471.5% in the second quarter. HRT Financial LP now owns 404,006 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,607,000 after purchasing an additional 333,317 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.83% of the company’s stock.

EZCORP Stock Performance

NASDAQ EZPW opened at $19.22 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $18.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.61. EZCORP, Inc. has a 12-month low of $11.58 and a 12-month high of $21.49. The company has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.63 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 4.37, a current ratio of 5.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The credit services provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $335.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $325.09 million. EZCORP had a net margin of 8.60% and a return on equity of 12.00%. Analysts anticipate that EZCORP, Inc. will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EZPW has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of EZCORP in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of EZCORP in a report on Friday, November 14th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of EZCORP from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. JMP Securities set a $23.00 target price on EZCORP in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Citizens Jmp began coverage on EZCORP in a report on Monday, November 3rd. They set a “market outperform” rating and a $23.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.50.

About EZCORP

EZCORP, Inc is a specialty consumer finance company that provides pawn loans and retail merchandise programs primarily through its EZPAWN and Cash Converters brands. The company offers collateral-based loans secured principally by jewelry, electronics, musical instruments and other personal items, alongside check-cashing, money-transfer and bill-payment services. In addition to its pawn lending operations, EZCORP acquires previously pawned or consumer merchandise for resale through its “Sell-It-Now” platform and retail storefronts.

Founded in 1989 and headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, EZCORP operates in two principal geographic markets: the United States and Mexico.