FirstCash Holdings, Inc. $FCFS Stock: Sigma Planning Corp Raises Stake

Sigma Planning Corp boosted its position in shares of FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) by 73.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,184 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,475 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in FirstCash were worth $1,729,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of FirstCash by 827.6% during the third quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of FirstCash by 10.2% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 2,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $498,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of FirstCash in the third quarter worth approximately $57,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 11.6% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 1,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $422,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the period. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC raised its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 5.7% in the third quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 6,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,407,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the period. 80.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FirstCash Stock Performance

FirstCash stock opened at $190.02 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $214.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $205.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 3.42 and a current ratio of 4.81. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $146.77 and a fifty-two week high of $238.93. The company has a market capitalization of $8.24 billion, a PE ratio of 20.59 and a beta of 0.55.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.05. FirstCash had a return on equity of 20.17% and a net margin of 9.48%. The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.86 earnings per share. FirstCash’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 11.03 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstCash declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, October 28th that allows the company to buy back $200 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

FirstCash Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is a boost from FirstCash’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. FirstCash’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.20%.

Insider Transactions at FirstCash

In other news, CFO R. Orr sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.00, for a total transaction of $432,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,502,544. This trade represents a 5.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Howard F. Hambleton sold 2,000 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $425,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,475,869.88. The trade was a 6.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,098 shares of company stock valued at $3,051,281. Company insiders own 2.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FCFS. Loop Capital raised FirstCash from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $255.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on FirstCash from $265.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered FirstCash from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered FirstCash from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on FirstCash from $242.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $247.50.

FirstCash Profile

FirstCash Holdings, Inc is a specialty financial services and retail company that operates pawn stores in the United States and Mexico. Through its pawn operations, the company provides short-term, collateral-backed loans to consumers who pledge personal property as security. Customers can reclaim their pledged items by repaying the loan and applicable fees within the required period.

The company also generates revenue by selling merchandise that has been forfeited on pawn loans or acquired through other purchasing activities.