FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) has been given a consensus rating of “Buy” by the six brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $198.00.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of FirstCash from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. Weiss Ratings lowered FirstCash from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of FirstCash from $242.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of FirstCash from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th.

FirstCash Stock Performance

Shares of FCFS stock opened at $230.54 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $202.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $178.48. 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 $10.11 billion, a PE ratio of 28.89 and a beta of 0.52. FirstCash has a 52-week low of $119.21 and a 52-week high of $235.97.

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

FirstCash Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. FirstCash’s payout ratio is 21.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Thomas Brent Stuart sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.53, for a total transaction of $1,825,300.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 150,846 shares in the company, valued at $27,533,920.38. This trade represents 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 through this link. Also, CFO R Douglas Orr sold 2,000 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.99, for a total value of $365,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 36,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,721,954.66. This represents a 5.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 18,500 shares of company stock worth $3,440,840. 2.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of FirstCash

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCFS. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FirstCash in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in FirstCash during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in FirstCash during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 127.8% in the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of FirstCash by 113.2% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.30% of the company’s stock.

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.