FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on FCFS. Weiss Ratings cut shares of FirstCash from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of FirstCash from $242.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of FirstCash from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, FirstCash currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $198.00.

FirstCash Price Performance

FCFS opened at $218.22 on Wednesday. FirstCash has a one year low of $119.21 and a one year high of $227.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 4.77 and a quick ratio of 3.42. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $197.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $175.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.35 and a beta of 0.47.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.39. FirstCash had a net margin of 9.15% and a return on equity of 18.68%. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. FirstCash’s revenue was up 25.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that FirstCash will post 11.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO R Douglas Orr sold 2,000 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.99, for a total transaction of $365,980.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 36,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,721,954.66. This trade represents a 5.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Thomas Brent Stuart sold 10,000 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.53, for a total transaction of $1,825,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 150,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,533,920.38. This represents a 6.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 26,500 shares of company stock worth $4,783,985. Company insiders own 2.93% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstCash

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of FirstCash by 96.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 240,441 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,091,000 after purchasing an additional 117,788 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 8,610 shares in the last quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of FirstCash during the third quarter worth $1,361,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 2.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,096,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $649,040,000 after acquiring an additional 83,113 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 76.3% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 534,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,687,000 after acquiring an additional 231,379 shares during the period. 80.30% of the stock is 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.