FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $183.25.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on FCFS. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of FirstCash in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 15th. Zacks Research lowered shares of FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on FirstCash from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday.

FirstCash Stock Performance

NASDAQ FCFS opened at $193.62 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 4.55 and a quick ratio of 3.36. FirstCash has a 1-year low of $116.09 and a 1-year high of $199.60. The company has a market cap of $8.52 billion, a PE ratio of 26.09 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $181.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $165.33.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $2.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.54 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. FirstCash had a return on equity of 17.99% and a net margin of 9.02%.The firm’s revenue was up 19.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.12 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that FirstCash will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstCash Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at FirstCash

In related news, insider Howard F. Hambleton sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.12, for a total transaction of $740,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 35,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,554,358.72. This trade represents a 10.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Thomas Brent Stuart sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer owned 150,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,533,920.38. The trade was a 6.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 26,500 shares of company stock worth $4,783,985 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of FirstCash

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 117,788 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its position in FirstCash by 685.2% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 37,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,121,000 after purchasing an additional 33,070 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of FirstCash by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 857,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,847,000 after purchasing an additional 8,610 shares during the last quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of FirstCash in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,361,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 334.2% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 29,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,920,000 after purchasing an additional 22,406 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.30% of the company’s stock.

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.