Bessemer Group Inc. Has $43.29 Million Stock Position in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. $FCFS

Bessemer Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) by 15.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 271,595 shares of the company’s stock after selling 48,595 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in FirstCash were worth $43,286,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in FirstCash during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its position in FirstCash by 127.8% during the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new stake in FirstCash during the third quarter valued at $32,000. High Point Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in FirstCash during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in FirstCash by 70.5% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.30% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at FirstCash

In other news, COO Thomas Brent Stuart sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.53, for a total value of $1,825,300.00. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Howard F. Hambleton sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider owned 35,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,554,358.72. This represents a 10.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 18,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,440,840. 2.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FCFS. TD Cowen boosted their price target on FirstCash from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen cut FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 10th. Zacks Research raised FirstCash from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings cut FirstCash from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on FirstCash from $242.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, FirstCash presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $198.00.

FirstCash Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of FCFS opened at $226.54 on Friday. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $119.21 and a 12-month high of $235.97. The company has a quick ratio of 3.42, a current ratio of 4.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.39 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $203.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $179.81.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.39. FirstCash had a return on equity of 18.68% and a net margin of 9.15%.The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 11.3 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstCash Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. FirstCash’s payout ratio is currently 21.05%.

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.