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

Shares of FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $177.50.

A number of research firms have weighed in on FCFS. Zacks Research cut shares of FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of FirstCash in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 15th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $217.00 price target on FirstCash in a research note on Friday, February 6th.

FirstCash Stock Performance

Shares of FirstCash stock opened at $187.04 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $174.56 and a 200-day moving average of $161.17. The company has a market cap of $8.23 billion, a PE ratio of 25.21 and a beta of 0.46. FirstCash has a 1-year low of $111.46 and a 1-year high of $197.92. The company has a current ratio of 4.55, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $2.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.54 by $0.10. FirstCash had a return on equity of 17.99% and a net margin of 9.02%.The company had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. FirstCash’s revenue was up 19.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that FirstCash will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstCash Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 18th. FirstCash’s payout ratio is presently 22.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other FirstCash news, COO Thomas Brent Stuart sold 10,000 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.53, for a total value of $1,825,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 150,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO R Douglas Orr sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.99, for a total transaction of $365,980.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 36,734 shares in the company, valued at $6,721,954.66. This represents a 5.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,500 shares of company stock worth $5,438,945. 2.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstCash

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCFS. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in shares of FirstCash during the third quarter worth approximately $66,925,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in FirstCash by 133.8% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 562,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,588,000 after purchasing an additional 321,663 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in FirstCash by 36.4% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,169,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,361,000 after purchasing an additional 312,132 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in FirstCash by 67.6% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 623,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,503,000 after buying an additional 251,305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in FirstCash by 76.3% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 534,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,687,000 after buying an additional 231,379 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.30% of the company’s stock.

FirstCash Company 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.