FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) Reaches New 52-Week High Following Earnings Beat

FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $163.16 and last traded at $158.45, with a volume of 658333 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $148.07.

The company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $935.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $845.28 million. FirstCash had a net margin of 8.61% and a return on equity of 16.63%. FirstCash’s revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.67 EPS.

FirstCash Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. FirstCash’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.81%.

FirstCash announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to buyback $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 2.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FCFS. Wall Street Zen raised shares of FirstCash from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 4th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of FirstCash in a report on Monday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of FirstCash to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of FirstCash in a report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of FirstCash in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, FirstCash has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $160.50.

Insider Transactions at FirstCash

In other news, CFO R Douglas Orr sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.64, for a total value of $638,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 93,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,937,035.88. This represents a 4.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Rick L. Wessel sold 69,024 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.49, for a total transaction of $9,559,133.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 932,958 shares in the company, valued at $129,205,353.42. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 119,000 shares of company stock valued at $16,690,723 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.93% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstCash

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FCFS. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of FirstCash during the 1st quarter valued at $55,340,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 1,350.3% during the 2nd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 250,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,907,000 after purchasing an additional 233,600 shares during the last quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 42.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 611,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,577,000 after purchasing an additional 182,451 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 85.8% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 371,754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,239,000 after purchasing an additional 171,708 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 888,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,945,000 after purchasing an additional 112,349 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.30% of the company’s stock.

FirstCash Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 4.21, a quick ratio of 3.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company’s fifty day moving average is $151.14 and its 200 day moving average is $137.82. The company has a market cap of $7.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.34 and a beta of 0.69.

About FirstCash

FirstCash Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates retail pawn stores in the United States, Mexico, and rest of Latin America. The company operates in three segments: U.S. Pawn, Latin America Pawn, and Retail POS Payment Solutions segments. Its pawn stores lend money on the collateral of pledged personal property, including jewelry, electronics, tools, appliances, sporting goods, and musical instruments; and retails merchandise acquired through collateral forfeitures on forfeited pawn loans and over-the-counter purchases of merchandise directly from customers.