FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume on Strong Earnings

FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. Approximately 244,281 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 20% from the previous session’s volume of 203,490 shares.The stock last traded at $117.67 and had previously closed at $132.03.

The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $836.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $846.08 million. FirstCash had a return on equity of 14.73% and a net margin of 7.23%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS.

FirstCash Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. FirstCash’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen upgraded shares of FirstCash from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $130.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Stephens raised their price objective on FirstCash from $131.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO R Douglas Orr sold 3,000 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.25, for a total transaction of $348,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 94,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,010,618.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Douglas Richard Rippel sold 5,916 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.09, for a total transaction of $680,872.44. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,607,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $645,363,492.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO R Douglas Orr sold 3,000 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.25, for a total transaction of $348,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 94,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,010,618.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 329,984 shares of company stock valued at $38,850,386 over the last ninety days. 18.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of FirstCash by 2.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,556,669 shares of the company’s stock valued at $658,158,000 after buying an additional 145,821 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in FirstCash by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,062,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $440,332,000 after acquiring an additional 219,983 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its holdings in FirstCash by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,206,042 shares of the company’s stock valued at $221,442,000 after acquiring an additional 22,067 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of FirstCash by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,038,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,573,000 after acquiring an additional 36,035 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 34.8% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 575,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,352,000 after purchasing an additional 148,502 shares in the last quarter. 80.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

FirstCash Stock Up 1.0 %

The company has a market cap of $5.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.56 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $122.13 and a 200 day moving average of $114.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 3.99 and a quick ratio of 2.96.

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.