Analysts Set FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) Target Price at $167.00

FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $167.00.

FCFS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on FirstCash from $181.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of FirstCash in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of FirstCash in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of FirstCash in a report on Monday, December 29th.

FirstCash Trading Down 0.2%

FirstCash stock opened at $164.91 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 3.72 and a current ratio of 4.99. FirstCash has a fifty-two week low of $104.99 and a fifty-two week high of $168.36. The stock has a market cap of $7.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.80 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $159.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $149.09.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $904.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $845.28 million. FirstCash had a net margin of 8.88% and a return on equity of 17.44%. The company’s revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.67 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that FirstCash will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstCash announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, October 30th that allows the company to buyback $150.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 2.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

FirstCash Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. FirstCash’s dividend payout ratio is 24.24%.

Insider Activity at FirstCash

In other news, CFO R Douglas Orr sold 2,500 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.45, for a total transaction of $396,125.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 38,234 shares in the company, valued at $6,058,177.30. This trade represents a 6.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Rick L. Wessel sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.39, for a total transaction of $3,127,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 866,982 shares in the company, valued at $135,587,314.98. This trade represents a 2.25% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 48,500 shares of company stock worth $7,678,508 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of FirstCash

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,199,000 after purchasing an additional 643 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of FirstCash by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 63,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,062,000 after buying an additional 3,351 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in FirstCash by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $357,000 after buying an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in FirstCash by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $435,000 after buying an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in FirstCash by 96.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 240,441 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,091,000 after acquiring an additional 117,788 shares during the last quarter. 80.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.