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

FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $167.00.

FCFS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of FirstCash in a report on Monday, December 8th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of FirstCash from $181.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of FirstCash in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd.

Insider Buying and Selling at FirstCash

In other FirstCash news, COO Thomas Brent Stuart sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.97, for a total transaction of $1,599,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 127,724 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,432,008.28. This represents a 7.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Rick L. Wessel sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.39, for a total transaction of $3,127,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 866,982 shares in the company, valued at $135,587,314.98. This trade represents a 2.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 41,000 shares of company stock worth $6,481,395 in the last ninety days. 2.93% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstCash

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCFS. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of FirstCash in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in FirstCash during the third quarter worth $25,000. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its position in 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 during the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. bought a new position in FirstCash during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in FirstCash by 70.5% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.30% of the company’s stock.

FirstCash Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of FirstCash stock opened at $168.03 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $160.23 and its 200 day moving average is $149.74. FirstCash has a one year low of $106.77 and a one year high of $169.24. The firm has a market cap of $7.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.25 and a beta of 0.52. 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 (NASDAQ:FCFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $904.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $845.28 million. FirstCash had a return on equity of 17.44% and a net margin of 8.88%.The company’s revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.67 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that FirstCash will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

FirstCash declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to repurchase $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 2.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

FirstCash Dividend Announcement

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

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.