FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $199.70 and last traded at $199.3950, with a volume of 170035 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $189.92.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on FCFS. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of FirstCash from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of FirstCash in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, February 15th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $183.25.

FirstCash Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $8.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.02 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $184.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $167.37.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. FirstCash’s quarterly revenue was up 19.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstCash Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 18th. FirstCash’s dividend payout ratio is 22.64%.

Insider Transactions at FirstCash

In related news, COO Thomas Brent Stuart sold 10,000 shares of the company’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,533,920.38. This represents a 6.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO R Douglas Orr sold 2,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 36,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,721,954.66. This trade represents a 5.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 26,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,783,985 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC raised its position in FirstCash by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC now owns 12,783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,037,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming grew its stake in shares of FirstCash by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 4.9% in the third quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 1,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC lifted its position in shares of FirstCash by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 1,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC boosted its holdings in FirstCash by 1.0% during the third quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 8,703 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,379,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. 80.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.