FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) Lowered to Hold Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on FCFS. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of FirstCash from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on FirstCash from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of FirstCash from $242.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $198.00.

FirstCash Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FCFS opened at $219.17 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.42, a current ratio of 4.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.47 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $220.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $193.00. FirstCash has a 52-week low of $119.21 and a 52-week high of $235.97.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1 billion. FirstCash had a return on equity of 18.68% and a net margin of 9.15%.FirstCash’s revenue was up 25.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.07 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that FirstCash will post 11.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstCash Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. FirstCash’s payout ratio is 21.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Thomas Brent Stuart sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.49, for a total transaction of $2,284,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 140,846 shares in the company, valued at $32,181,902.54. This trade represents a 6.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Raul Ramos sold 6,835 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.23, for a total transaction of $1,539,447.05. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 20,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,594,692. The trade was a 25.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 27,500 shares of company stock worth $6,243,104. Insiders own 2.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in FirstCash by 27.8% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,117,000 after acquiring an additional 1,294 shares during the last quarter. PVG Asset Management Corp grew its stake in shares of FirstCash by 514.6% during the first quarter. PVG Asset Management Corp now owns 11,019 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,072,000 after purchasing an additional 9,226 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Grp LLC increased its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 43,752.4% in the first quarter. Wellington Grp LLC now owns 9,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,731,000 after purchasing an additional 9,188 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in FirstCash by 20.4% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in FirstCash by 19.8% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 45,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,488,000 after buying an additional 7,475 shares in the last quarter. 80.30% of the stock is 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.