Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Position in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. $FCFS

Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) by 219.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,053 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,900 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in FirstCash were worth $4,898,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 96.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 240,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,091,000 after purchasing an additional 117,788 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its position in FirstCash by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 474,977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,296,000 after buying an additional 40,535 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in FirstCash by 70,840.3% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 43,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,010,000 after purchasing an additional 43,921 shares during the last quarter. Fourth Sail Capital LP acquired a new position in FirstCash during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $17,439,000. Finally, Brant Point Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in FirstCash during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,391,000. 80.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FirstCash Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of FirstCash stock opened at $213.61 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $221.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $199.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 3.42 and a current ratio of 4.77. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $119.21 and a fifty-two week high of $235.97. The company has a market cap of $9.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.77 and a beta of 0.53.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. FirstCash had a return on equity of 18.68% and a net margin of 9.15%.FirstCash’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.07 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 11.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstCash Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. FirstCash’s payout ratio is 21.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FCFS has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of FirstCash from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered FirstCash from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on FirstCash from $242.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. One investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, FirstCash presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at FirstCash

In related news, CFO R Douglas Orr sold 2,000 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.29, for a total value of $454,580.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 35,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,121,980.86. The trade was a 5.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through 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 the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.40, for a total value of $326,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,427,013.60. This trade represents a 18.60% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 27,500 shares of company stock worth $6,243,104. 2.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.