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

Shares of FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment 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 brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $183.25.

FCFS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of FirstCash in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on FirstCash from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 15th.

Insider Activity at FirstCash

In related news, CFO R Douglas Orr sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 36,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,721,954.66. This represents a 5.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Howard F. Hambleton sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.12, for a total transaction of $740,480.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 26,500 shares of company stock worth $4,783,985 over the last quarter. Insiders own 2.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of FirstCash

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC lifted its position in shares of FirstCash by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC now owns 12,783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,037,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming raised its position in FirstCash by 4.3% during the third quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Profund Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in FirstCash by 4.9% during the third quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 1,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC grew its position in shares of FirstCash by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 1,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC increased its stake in shares of FirstCash by 1.0% during the third quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 8,703 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,379,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.30% of the company’s stock.

FirstCash Stock Up 0.8%

FCFS stock opened at $193.62 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.52 billion, a PE ratio of 26.09 and a beta of 0.46. FirstCash has a 52 week low of $116.09 and a 52 week high of $199.60. The company has a quick ratio of 3.36, a current ratio of 4.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $181.64 and a 200 day moving average of $165.33.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. FirstCash had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 17.99%. FirstCash’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that FirstCash will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstCash Dividend Announcement

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

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.