Peregrine Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. $FCFS

Peregrine Capital Management LLC reduced its position in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) by 4.1% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 65,564 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,813 shares during the quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC’s holdings in FirstCash were worth $12,326,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of FirstCash in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in FirstCash by 490.9% during the 4th 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. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new stake in FirstCash during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. High Point Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in FirstCash in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in shares of FirstCash by 531.7% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 259 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.30% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Paula K. Garrett sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.40, for a total transaction of $326,100.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,427,013.60. This trade represents a 18.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Howard F. Hambleton sold 3,000 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.41, for a total transaction of $679,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 32,406 shares in the company, valued at $7,337,042.46. The trade was a 8.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 27,500 shares of company stock valued at $6,243,104 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.86% of the company’s stock.

FirstCash Price Performance

Shares of FCFS opened at $216.32 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 4.77 and a quick ratio of 3.42. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $119.21 and a 1-year high of $235.97. The stock has a market cap of $9.48 billion, a PE ratio of 27.11 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $221.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $194.66.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.39. FirstCash had a return on equity of 18.68% and a net margin of 9.15%.The company had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 25.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 11.3 EPS for the current year.

FirstCash Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. FirstCash’s payout ratio is 21.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on FCFS shares. Weiss Ratings cut FirstCash from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Zacks Research lowered FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on FirstCash from $242.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of FirstCash from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $198.00.

About FirstCash

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.