FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $205.63, but opened at $215.76. FirstCash shares last traded at $222.40, with a volume of 26,200 shares traded.

The company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1 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 25.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.07 EPS.

FirstCash Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 18th. FirstCash’s dividend payout ratio is 22.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FCFS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 15th. Weiss Ratings raised FirstCash from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Zacks Research downgraded FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on FirstCash from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $183.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at FirstCash

In other FirstCash news, COO Thomas Brent Stuart sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.53, for a total transaction 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO R Douglas Orr sold 2,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 36,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,721,954.66. This trade represents a 5.16% 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. 2.93% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstCash

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FCFS. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in FirstCash by 4.7% during the 1st 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. grew its holdings in FirstCash by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 389,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,866,000 after buying an additional 34,364 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 237.2% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 62,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,467,000 after purchasing an additional 43,653 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 4.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 14,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,917,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 67.4% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 20,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,821,000 after purchasing an additional 8,402 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.30% of the company’s stock.

FirstCash Stock Up 3.3%

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $193.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $173.04. The company has a quick ratio of 3.36, a current ratio of 4.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market cap of $9.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.62 and a beta of 0.47.

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.