Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Lowers Stock Holdings in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. $FCFS

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its stake in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) by 27.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,198 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,765 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in FirstCash were worth $2,408,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Keybank National Association OH grew its stake in shares of FirstCash by 54.3% in the 3rd quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 2,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 816 shares during the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 4.0% during the third quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 15,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,455,000 after purchasing an additional 595 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in FirstCash by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 184,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,269,000 after buying an additional 2,085 shares during the last quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in FirstCash in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,361,000. Finally, Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in FirstCash by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 2,273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $360,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. 80.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FirstCash Stock Performance

Shares of FCFS opened at $181.66 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.36, a current ratio of 4.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $109.51 and a 52-week high of $188.75. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $165.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.20. The company has a market capitalization of $8.02 billion, a PE ratio of 24.48 and a beta of 0.49.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $2.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstCash Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 18th. FirstCash’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.64%.

FirstCash declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, October 30th that allows the company to buyback $150.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on FCFS shares. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $217.00 target price on shares of FirstCash in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of FirstCash in a report on Friday, October 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of FirstCash from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of FirstCash in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research cut FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, FirstCash has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.40.

Insider Transactions at FirstCash

In related news, CEO Rick L. Wessel sold 20,000 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.39, for a total transaction of $3,127,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 866,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $135,587,314.98. The trade was a 2.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Howard F. Hambleton sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.74, for a total value of $654,960.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 26,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,352,372.94. The trade was a 13.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 50,500 shares of company stock worth $8,150,640 over the last ninety days. 14.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.