Granite Investment Partners LLC Trims Stake in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. $FCFS

Granite Investment Partners LLC lowered its position in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) by 5.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 67,704 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,114 shares during the quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC owned about 0.15% of FirstCash worth $12,728,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in FirstCash during the first quarter worth about $26,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in FirstCash by 490.9% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of FirstCash in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. High Point Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of FirstCash in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of FirstCash by 29.6% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.30% of the company’s stock.

FirstCash Trading Down 3.4%

Shares of FCFS stock opened at $215.64 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.42, a current ratio of 4.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $222.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $197.12. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $119.21 and a 12-month high of $235.97. The firm has a market cap of $9.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.02 and a beta of 0.53.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1 billion. FirstCash had a return on equity of 18.68% and a net margin of 9.15%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.07 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 11.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstCash Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. FirstCash’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on FCFS shares. Weiss Ratings lowered FirstCash from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of FirstCash from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of FirstCash from $242.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, FirstCash currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other FirstCash news, COO Thomas Brent Stuart sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.49, for a total transaction of $2,284,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 140,846 shares in the company, valued at $32,181,902.54. This trade represents a 6.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Paula K. Garrett sold 1,500 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.40, for a total transaction of $326,100.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,564 shares in the company, valued at $1,427,013.60. This trade represents a 18.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 27,500 shares of company stock valued at $6,243,104 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.86% 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.