Canaccord Genuity Group Boosts FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) Price Target to $240.00

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) had its price target lifted by research analysts at Canaccord Genuity Group from $217.00 to $240.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 24.95% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on FCFS. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, February 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of FirstCash in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $183.25.

FirstCash Stock Up 1.9%

FCFS opened at $192.08 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.89 and a beta of 0.46. FirstCash has a one year low of $114.21 and a one year high of $199.60. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $181.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $164.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 4.55 and a quick ratio of 3.36.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $2.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.54 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. FirstCash had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 17.99%. FirstCash’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.12 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that FirstCash will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other FirstCash news, COO Thomas Brent Stuart sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.53, for a total value of $1,825,300.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 150,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,533,920.38. This represents a 6.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Howard F. Hambleton sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owned 35,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,554,358.72. This represents a 10.15% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 26,500 shares of company stock worth $4,783,985. Corporate insiders own 2.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of FirstCash

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 4.7% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 22,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,761,000 after buying an additional 1,021 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in FirstCash by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 389,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,866,000 after buying an additional 34,364 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in FirstCash by 237.2% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 62,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,467,000 after buying an additional 43,653 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in FirstCash by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $470,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey boosted its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 8,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,190,000 after acquiring an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. 80.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About FirstCash

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.