FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $177.50.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen cut FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 15th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of FirstCash in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $217.00 price objective on shares of FirstCash in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Zacks Research cut FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of FirstCash in a research report on Monday, December 29th.

Insider Transactions at FirstCash

In related news, CFO R Douglas Orr sold 2,000 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.99, for a total value of $365,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 36,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,721,954.66. The trade was a 5.16% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.12, for a total value of $740,480.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 35,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,554,358.72. This trade represents a 10.15% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 30,500 shares of company stock valued at $5,438,945 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of FirstCash

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in FirstCash during the 3rd quarter worth $66,925,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in FirstCash by 133.8% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 562,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,588,000 after purchasing an additional 321,663 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in FirstCash by 36.4% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,169,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,361,000 after buying an additional 312,132 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of FirstCash by 67.6% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 623,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,503,000 after purchasing an additional 251,305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in FirstCash by 76.3% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 534,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,687,000 after buying an additional 231,379 shares during the last quarter. 80.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FirstCash Stock Performance

FCFS stock opened at $189.27 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $8.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.51 and a beta of 0.49. FirstCash has a 12-month low of $109.51 and a 12-month high of $189.90. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $171.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $159.25. The company has a current ratio of 4.55, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $2.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.54 by $0.10. FirstCash had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 17.99%. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that FirstCash will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

FirstCash Dividend Announcement

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

FirstCash declared that its board has authorized a share 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 purchase 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 Company 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.