ProShare Advisors LLC Buys 7,037 Shares of FirstCash Holdings, Inc. $FCFS

ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) by 71.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,876 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,037 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in FirstCash were worth $2,674,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in FirstCash by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 980,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,552,000 after purchasing an additional 11,534 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC raised its stake in FirstCash by 1.0% during the third quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 857,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,847,000 after buying an additional 8,610 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in FirstCash by 10.1% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 713,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,477,000 after buying an additional 65,308 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its position in FirstCash by 1.3% during the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 658,961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,871,000 after acquiring an additional 8,503 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hood River Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in FirstCash by 42.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 611,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,577,000 after acquiring an additional 182,451 shares during the period. 80.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity

In other FirstCash news, insider Howard F. Hambleton sold 4,000 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.74, for a total transaction of $654,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 26,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,352,372.94. The trade was a 13.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO R Douglas Orr sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total value of $701,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 111,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,516,751.93. This trade represents a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 50,500 shares of company stock valued at $8,150,640. 2.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

FirstCash Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:FCFS opened at $181.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a current ratio of 4.55. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $109.51 and a 52-week high of $188.75. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $167.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $156.23. The firm has a market cap of $8.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.51 and a beta of 0.49.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $2.64 earnings per share 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. FirstCash’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstCash Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 18th. FirstCash’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.64%.

FirstCash announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $150.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 2.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.