PEAK6 LLC Acquires New Stake in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. $FCFS

PEAK6 LLC purchased a new stake in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 9,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,042,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FCFS. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of FirstCash during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,088,429,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of FirstCash by 36.4% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,169,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,361,000 after purchasing an additional 312,132 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of FirstCash by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,043,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $166,367,000 after purchasing an additional 31,550 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of FirstCash by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,009,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,850,000 after purchasing an additional 5,626 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of FirstCash by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 794,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,273,000 after purchasing an additional 17,177 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.30% of the company’s stock.

FirstCash Stock Performance

Shares of FirstCash stock opened at $225.28 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $214.07 and a 200-day moving average of $207.16. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $138.34 and a 52-week high of $235.97. The stock has a market cap of $9.77 billion, a PE ratio of 25.72 and a beta of 0.53. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. FirstCash had a net margin of 9.42% and a return on equity of 19.65%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 11.85 EPS for the current year.

FirstCash Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. FirstCash’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Howard F. Hambleton sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $425,960.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 30,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,475,869.88. This trade represents a 6.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Thomas Brent Stuart sold 5,348 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.63, for a total transaction of $1,147,841.24. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 135,498 shares in the company, valued at $29,081,935.74. This trade represents a 3.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,348 shares of company stock worth $4,492,755. 2.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on FCFS shares. Loop Capital upgraded shares of FirstCash from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $255.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of FirstCash from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded FirstCash from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Zacks Research cut FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $249.00.

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.