Castleark Management LLC Makes New $14.75 Million Investment in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. $FCFS

Castleark Management LLC acquired a new stake in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 68,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,751,000. Castleark Management LLC owned about 0.16% of FirstCash at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its position in shares of FirstCash by 9.3% during the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 474,977 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,296,000 after buying an additional 40,535 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in FirstCash by 70,840.3% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 43,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,010,000 after acquiring an additional 43,921 shares in the last quarter. Fourth Sail Capital LP acquired a new stake in FirstCash in the fourth quarter valued at $17,439,000. Brant Point Investment Management LLC bought a new position in FirstCash during the 4th quarter valued at $2,391,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in FirstCash during the 4th quarter valued at $5,476,000. 80.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FCFS shares. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of FirstCash from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Loop Capital raised shares of FirstCash from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $255.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered FirstCash from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Zacks Research cut FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $249.00.

FirstCash Stock Down 2.9%

FCFS stock opened at $229.51 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 4.89 and a quick ratio of 3.51. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.56 and a 1-year high of $238.93. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $214.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $208.03. The firm has a market cap of $9.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.20 and a beta of 0.53.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.11. FirstCash had a net margin of 9.42% and a return on equity of 19.65%. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.34 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 29.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 11.85 EPS for the current year.

FirstCash Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. FirstCash’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at FirstCash

In other FirstCash news, COO Thomas Brent Stuart sold 5,348 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.63, for a total value of $1,147,841.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 135,498 shares in the company, valued at $29,081,935.74. The trade was a 3.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Howard F. Hambleton sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $425,960.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,475,869.88. This trade represents a 6.17% 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 20,348 shares of company stock worth $4,492,755 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.86% of the company’s stock.

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.