422,455 Shares in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. $FCFS Purchased by Westfield Capital Management Co. LP

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in shares of FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 422,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,925,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FCFS. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,096,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $649,040,000 after acquiring an additional 83,113 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in FirstCash by 1.2% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 980,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,552,000 after purchasing an additional 11,534 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its position in FirstCash by 1.0% in the third quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 857,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,847,000 after purchasing an additional 8,610 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 65,308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its position in FirstCash by 1.3% during the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 658,961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,871,000 after purchasing an additional 8,503 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.30% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at FirstCash

In other FirstCash news, COO Thomas Brent Stuart sold 10,000 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.53, for a total value of $1,825,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 150,846 shares in the company, valued at $27,533,920.38. The trade was a 6.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Howard F. Hambleton sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.12, for a total transaction of $740,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 35,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,554,358.72. This represents a 10.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 30,500 shares of company stock valued at $5,438,945. Corporate insiders own 2.93% of the company’s stock.

FirstCash Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ FCFS opened at $186.12 on Thursday. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $109.51 and a one year high of $188.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a current ratio of 4.55. The company has a market capitalization of $8.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.08 and a beta of 0.49. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $170.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $159.04.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $2.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.54 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. FirstCash had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 17.99%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstCash announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to buyback $150.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 2.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

FirstCash Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. FirstCash’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on FCFS shares. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $217.00 price target on FirstCash in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, February 15th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of FirstCash in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Zacks Research cut FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of FirstCash in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, FirstCash has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $177.50.

FirstCash Profile

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.