FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the five analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $249.00.

Several brokerages have weighed in on FCFS. TD Cowen upped their target price on FirstCash from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Zacks Research cut shares of FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of FirstCash from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Loop Capital upgraded shares of FirstCash from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $255.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of FirstCash from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 5th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Thomas Stuart sold 5,348 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.63, for a total value of $1,147,841.24. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 135,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,081,935.74. This trade represents a 3.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO R. Orr sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.00, for a total value of $432,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,502,544. The trade was a 5.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 14,098 shares of company stock worth $3,051,281 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstCash

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCFS. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC raised its holdings in FirstCash by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC now owns 12,783 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,037,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 29.6% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $907,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its position in shares of FirstCash by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 9,315 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,751,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of FirstCash by 113.2% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.30% of the company’s stock.

FirstCash Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FCFS opened at $221.79 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $214.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $212.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 3.51 and a current ratio of 4.89. FirstCash has a one year low of $145.42 and a one year high of $238.93. The firm has a market cap of $9.62 billion, a PE ratio of 25.32 and a beta of 0.53.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.11. FirstCash had a return on equity of 19.65% and a net margin of 9.42%.The firm had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. FirstCash’s quarterly revenue was up 29.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that FirstCash will post 11.85 EPS for the current year.

FirstCash Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. FirstCash’s payout ratio is 19.18%.

About FirstCash

FirstCash, Inc (NASDAQ: FCFS) is a specialty consumer-finance and retail company focused primarily on pawn-based lending. Through its pawn stores, the company provides short-term, non-recourse loans secured by personal property, allowing customers to obtain cash without traditional credit underwriting. Customers may repay the loan and reclaim the pledged item or forfeit the collateral under applicable regulations.

FirstCash also generates revenue by selling merchandise obtained through forfeited pawn loans and by purchasing used goods directly from consumers.