FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $164.00 and last traded at $163.6680, with a volume of 5613 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $162.18.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Capital One Financial set a $160.00 price objective on FirstCash in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of FirstCash in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of FirstCash from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of FirstCash from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of FirstCash in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $167.00.

FirstCash Trading Down 0.7%

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $152.73 and its 200 day moving average is $139.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 4.21 and a quick ratio of 3.12. The company has a market capitalization of $7.09 billion, a PE ratio of 24.69 and a beta of 0.66.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $935.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $845.28 million. FirstCash had a net margin of 8.61% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The company’s revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.67 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

FirstCash Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. FirstCash’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.24%.

FirstCash declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that allows the company to buyback $150.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 2.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at FirstCash

In other FirstCash news, CFO R Douglas Orr sold 2,852 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total transaction of $455,521.44. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 39,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,346,314.48. The trade was a 6.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Rick L. Wessel sold 30,976 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.33, for a total transaction of $4,315,886.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 901,982 shares in the company, valued at $125,673,152.06. The trade was a 3.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 113,000 shares of company stock worth $15,883,363. 2.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstCash

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of FirstCash in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of FirstCash in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rothschild Investment LLC increased 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 in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in FirstCash by 70.5% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in FirstCash by 181.6% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 290 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. 80.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.