Granite Investment Partners LLC Sells 15,181 Shares of FirstCash Holdings, Inc. $FCFS

Granite Investment Partners LLC trimmed its stake in shares of FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 76,605 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,181 shares during the quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC owned approximately 0.17% of FirstCash worth $12,136,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of FCFS. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of FirstCash during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in FirstCash during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its position in FirstCash by 127.8% during the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in FirstCash by 70.5% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 220 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in FirstCash by 262.5% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. 80.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other FirstCash news, CFO R Douglas Orr sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total transaction of $701,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 111,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,516,751.93. This trade represents a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Howard F. Hambleton sold 4,000 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.12, for a total transaction of $740,480.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 35,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,554,358.72. The trade was a 10.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 30,500 shares of company stock worth $5,438,945 in the last three months. 14.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of FirstCash in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of FirstCash in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research cut FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 15th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $217.00 target price on FirstCash in a report on Friday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, FirstCash presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $177.50.

FirstCash Stock Performance

FirstCash stock opened at $183.45 on Monday. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $109.51 and a fifty-two week high of $188.75. The stock has a market cap of $8.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.72 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $169.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $158.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a current ratio of 4.55.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $2.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.54 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. FirstCash had a return on equity of 17.99% and a net margin of 9.02%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

FirstCash Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. FirstCash’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.64%.

FirstCash Profile

FirstCash, Inc (NASDAQ: FCFS) is a leading integrated operator of pawn stores and provider of short-term consumer loan services in the United States and Mexico. Through its retail pawn outlets, FirstCash offers collateral-based loans secured by personal property, enabling customers to access liquidity without a credit history or traditional bank account. The company also purchases, trades and sells a broad range of secondhand merchandise, including electronics, jewelry and power tools, through its network of conveniently located stores.

In addition to its pawn-broking activities, FirstCash provides unsecured consumer loans designed to meet urgent cash needs.