Stephens Investment Management Group LLC Raises Holdings in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. $FCFS

Stephens Investment Management Group LLC raised its stake in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 857,510 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,610 shares during the period. FirstCash accounts for approximately 1.8% of Stephens Investment Management Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC owned about 1.93% of FirstCash worth $135,847,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 980,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,552,000 after buying an additional 11,534 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in FirstCash by 10.1% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 713,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,477,000 after acquiring an additional 65,308 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its stake in FirstCash by 1.3% in the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 658,961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,871,000 after acquiring an additional 8,503 shares in the last quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in FirstCash by 42.6% in the second quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 611,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,577,000 after purchasing an additional 182,451 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its holdings in FirstCash by 1.3% in the third quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 584,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,594,000 after purchasing an additional 7,736 shares during the last quarter. 80.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FCFS. Zacks Research cut FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. TD Cowen raised their price target on FirstCash from $181.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of FirstCash in a report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of FirstCash in a research report on Friday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $167.00.

Insider Transactions at FirstCash

In related news, insider Howard F. Hambleton sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.74, for a total transaction of $654,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 26,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,352,372.94. This trade represents a 13.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Rick L. Wessel sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.39, for a total transaction of $3,127,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 866,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $135,587,314.98. This represents a 2.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 41,000 shares of company stock valued at $6,481,395. 2.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

FirstCash Stock Up 1.2%

FirstCash stock opened at $171.10 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $160.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $150.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 3.72 and a current ratio of 4.99. The company has a market cap of $7.55 billion, a PE ratio of 24.69 and a beta of 0.52. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $106.77 and a fifty-two week high of $171.37.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $904.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $845.28 million. FirstCash had a return on equity of 17.44% and a net margin of 8.88%.The company’s revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.67 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

FirstCash Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th were issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. FirstCash’s dividend payout ratio is 24.24%.

FirstCash announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 2.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.