FirstCash Holdings, Inc. $FCFS Stock Position Lessened by Earnest Partners LLC

Earnest Partners LLC reduced its stake in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) by 1.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,284,095 shares of the company’s stock after selling 42,120 shares during the period. FirstCash makes up about 1.6% of Earnest Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Earnest Partners LLC owned 5.18% of FirstCash worth $361,846,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in FirstCash by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 34,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,426,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A. bought a new stake in shares of FirstCash during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. increased its position in shares of FirstCash by 55.8% during the third quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 8,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,281,000 after buying an additional 2,913 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 280.5% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 305,856 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,454,000 after buying an additional 225,466 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of FirstCash by 14.5% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 190,861 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,237,000 after acquiring an additional 24,208 shares during the period. 80.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $217.00 target price on shares of FirstCash in a report on Friday, February 6th. Zacks Research lowered shares of FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of FirstCash in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $177.50.

FirstCash Stock Up 1.1%

FCFS stock opened at $193.07 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.55, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The company’s 50 day moving average is $178.54 and its 200 day moving average is $163.45. The stock has a market cap of $8.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.02 and a beta of 0.46. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $113.32 and a 1-year high of $199.60.

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

FirstCash Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at FirstCash

In related news, insider Howard F. Hambleton sold 4,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 35,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,554,358.72. The trade was a 10.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Thomas Brent Stuart sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.53, for a total value of $1,825,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 150,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,533,920.38. This represents a 6.22% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,500 shares of company stock valued at $5,438,945. Insiders own 2.93% 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.