First Trust Advisors LP Increases Stock Position in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. $FCFS

First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) by 9.7% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 56,392 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,969 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in FirstCash were worth $10,602,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FirstCash in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in FirstCash during the first quarter worth $29,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in FirstCash by 113.2% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in FirstCash by 490.9% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, High Point Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in FirstCash in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. 80.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FirstCash Stock Performance

Shares of FCFS stock opened at $204.01 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $217.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $202.48. The stock has a market cap of $8.85 billion, a PE ratio of 23.29 and a beta of 0.53. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $128.90 and a 1 year high of $235.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 3.51 and a current ratio of 4.89.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. FirstCash had a return on equity of 19.65% and a net margin of 9.42%.FirstCash’s quarterly revenue was up 29.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstCash Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. FirstCash’s payout ratio is currently 19.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at FirstCash

In other FirstCash news, insider Howard F. Hambleton sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.41, for a total transaction of $679,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 32,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,337,042.46. This trade represents a 8.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Raul Ramos sold 6,835 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.23, for a total transaction of $1,539,447.05. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 20,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,594,692. The trade was a 25.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 26,000 shares of company stock valued at $5,917,004 over the last 90 days. 2.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on FCFS shares. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of FirstCash from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, May 10th. Zacks Research cut shares of FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of FirstCash from $242.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of FirstCash from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, FirstCash currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.25.

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.