FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $238.38 and last traded at $236.43, with a volume of 1047271 shares. The stock had previously closed at $225.28.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on FCFS. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of FirstCash from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 10th. Zacks Research lowered shares of FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Loop Capital upgraded shares of FirstCash from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $255.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on FirstCash from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $249.00.

FirstCash Stock Up 4.9%

The stock has a market cap of $10.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.99 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 3.51 and a current ratio of 4.89. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $214.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $207.16.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.11. FirstCash had a net margin of 9.42% and a return on equity of 19.65%. The business had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.34 earnings per share. FirstCash’s revenue was up 29.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 11.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstCash Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. FirstCash’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Raul Ramos sold 6,835 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.23, for a total transaction of $1,539,447.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 20,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,594,692. The trade was a 25.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.00, for a total transaction of $432,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,502,544. This represents a 5.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 20,348 shares of company stock valued at $4,492,755 over the last 90 days. 2.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstCash

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in FirstCash by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 22,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,761,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 389,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,866,000 after buying an additional 34,364 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in FirstCash by 237.2% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 62,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,467,000 after buying an additional 43,653 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in FirstCash by 4.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 14,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,917,000 after buying an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in FirstCash by 67.4% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 20,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,821,000 after acquiring an additional 8,402 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.30% 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.