Howard Hambleton Sells 3,000 Shares of FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) Stock

FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) insider Howard Hambleton sold 3,000 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.41, for a total transaction of $679,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 32,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,337,042.46. This trade represents a 8.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

FirstCash Stock Up 0.3%

FCFS stock opened at $226.57 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 4.77 and a quick ratio of 3.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.39 and a beta of 0.52. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $119.21 and a 52-week high of $235.97. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $205.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $181.58.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.39. FirstCash had a net margin of 9.15% and a return on equity of 18.68%. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.07 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 25.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. FirstCash’s payout ratio is currently 21.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on FCFS shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded FirstCash from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on FirstCash from $242.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of FirstCash from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of FirstCash from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $198.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FCFS. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in FirstCash in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of FirstCash in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in FirstCash in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in FirstCash by 490.9% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during 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.