Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Grows Holdings in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. $FCFS

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its position in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) by 1.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 584,487 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,736 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s holdings in FirstCash were worth $92,594,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of FirstCash in the second quarter worth about $25,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in FirstCash by 181.6% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional increased its holdings in FirstCash by 24.7% during the 2nd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 434 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its position in shares of FirstCash by 169.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of FirstCash during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $65,000. 80.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FCFS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of FirstCash from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of FirstCash from $181.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of FirstCash in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Zacks Research lowered shares of FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of FirstCash in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, FirstCash currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $167.00.

FirstCash Stock Performance

FirstCash stock opened at $163.11 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 4.99 and a quick ratio of 3.72. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $104.14 and a 12 month high of $167.31. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $159.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $148.48. The company has a market cap of $7.20 billion, a PE ratio of 23.54 and a beta of 0.52.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.35. FirstCash had a net margin of 8.88% and a return on equity of 17.44%. The company had revenue of $904.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $845.28 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstCash Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th were issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. FirstCash’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.24%.

FirstCash declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to buyback $150.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 2.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Howard F. Hambleton sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.74, for a total value of $654,960.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 26,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,352,372.94. This trade represents a 13.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Thomas Brent Stuart sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.97, for a total value of $1,599,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 127,724 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,432,008.28. This represents a 7.26% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 48,500 shares of company stock valued at $7,678,508 over the last 90 days. 14.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.