PVG Asset Management Corp Increases Stake in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. $FCFS

PVG Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) by 514.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,019 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,226 shares during the period. FirstCash accounts for 1.5% of PVG Asset Management Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. PVG Asset Management Corp’s holdings in FirstCash were worth $2,072,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of FirstCash by 133.8% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 562,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,588,000 after acquiring an additional 321,663 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in FirstCash by 36.4% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,169,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,361,000 after purchasing an additional 312,132 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in FirstCash by 67.6% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 623,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,503,000 after purchasing an additional 251,305 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in FirstCash by 280.5% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 305,856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,454,000 after purchasing an additional 225,466 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. bought a new stake in FirstCash during the first quarter valued at about $28,371,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.30% of the company’s stock.

FirstCash Price Performance

FCFS stock opened at $204.01 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 3.51 and a current ratio of 4.89. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $217.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $202.74. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $128.90 and a one year high of $235.97. The company has a market capitalization of $8.85 billion, a PE ratio of 23.29 and a beta of 0.53.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. FirstCash had a net margin of 9.42% and a return on equity of 19.65%. FirstCash’s quarterly revenue was up 29.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 11.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstCash Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. FirstCash’s dividend payout ratio is 19.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on FCFS. Weiss Ratings downgraded FirstCash from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of FirstCash from $242.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 10th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of FirstCash from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, FirstCash currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.25.

Insider Transactions at FirstCash

In related news, CFO R Douglas Orr sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.29, for a total transaction of $454,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 35,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,121,980.86. This represents a 5.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Howard F. Hambleton sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.41, for a total value of $679,230.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 32,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,337,042.46. The trade was a 8.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 26,000 shares of company stock worth $5,917,004. 2.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

FirstCash 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.