FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $177.50.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on FCFS shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of FirstCash in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, February 15th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $217.00 price objective on FirstCash in a research note on Friday, February 6th.

FirstCash Price Performance

Shares of FCFS opened at $195.23 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.59 billion, a PE ratio of 26.31 and a beta of 0.46. 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 $110.16 and a 1-year high of $197.74. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $173.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $160.75.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $2.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.54 by $0.10. FirstCash had a return on equity of 17.99% and a net margin of 9.02%.The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.12 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that FirstCash will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

FirstCash Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 18th. FirstCash’s payout ratio is 22.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at FirstCash

In other news, insider Howard F. Hambleton sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.12, for a total value of $740,480.00. Following 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO R Douglas Orr sold 2,000 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.99, for a total value of $365,980.00. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 30,500 shares of company stock valued at $5,438,945. Insiders own 14.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of FirstCash

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings in FirstCash by 685.2% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in FirstCash by 1.7% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 388,635 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,520,000 after purchasing an additional 6,633 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 26.0% during the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 33,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,522,000 after purchasing an additional 6,907 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC grew its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FirstCash in the third quarter valued at $1,361,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.30% of the company’s stock.

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.