FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) COO Thomas Brent Stuart Sells 10,000 Shares

FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) COO Thomas Brent Stuart sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.53, for a total transaction of $1,825,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 150,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,533,920.38. This trade represents a 6.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

FirstCash Trading Up 1.1%

FirstCash stock traded up $2.01 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $183.90. 324,869 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 275,499. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $109.51 and a fifty-two week high of $188.75. The company has a quick ratio of 3.36, a current ratio of 4.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.78 and a beta of 0.49. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $167.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.76.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $2.64 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 earnings per share. FirstCash’s revenue was up 19.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstCash declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $150.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 2.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

FirstCash Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. FirstCash’s dividend payout ratio is 22.64%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstCash

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of FCFS. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in FirstCash in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in FirstCash in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its position in FirstCash by 127.8% during the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 180 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 490.9% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Community Bank N.A. bought a new stake in shares of FirstCash in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. 80.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FCFS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of FirstCash in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Zacks Research lowered shares of FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $217.00 price objective on shares of FirstCash in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of FirstCash in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.40.

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.