FirstCash Holdings, Inc. $FCFS Shares Purchased by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,096,956 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 83,113 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.28% of FirstCash worth $649,040,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of FirstCash by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 22,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,761,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of FirstCash by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 389,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,866,000 after purchasing an additional 34,364 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in FirstCash by 237.2% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 62,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,467,000 after purchasing an additional 43,653 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in FirstCash during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in FirstCash by 0.5% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,289,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.30% of the company’s stock.

FirstCash Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FCFS opened at $181.59 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 4.55 and a quick ratio of 3.36. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $109.51 and a 1 year high of $188.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.99 billion, a PE ratio of 24.47 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $169.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $158.49.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $2.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.54 by $0.10. FirstCash had a return on equity of 17.99% and a net margin of 9.02%.The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

FirstCash Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. FirstCash’s payout ratio is presently 22.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at FirstCash

In related news, insider Howard F. Hambleton sold 4,000 shares of FirstCash 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 owned 35,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,554,358.72. This trade represents a 10.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Thomas Brent Stuart sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.53, for a total value of $1,825,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 150,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,533,920.38. The trade was a 6.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 30,500 shares of company stock worth $5,438,945. Insiders own 14.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on FCFS. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $217.00 price objective on FirstCash in a research report on Friday, February 6th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of FirstCash in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of FirstCash in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 15th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $177.50.

FirstCash 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.