FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $206.29 and last traded at $206.5450, with a volume of 126809 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $202.60.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FCFS. Wall Street Zen downgraded FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 15th. Zacks Research cut FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised FirstCash from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on FirstCash from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $183.25.

FirstCash Stock Performance

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 firm has a market cap of $9.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.87 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $191.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $171.51.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last issued its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. FirstCash had a return on equity of 17.99% and a net margin of 9.02%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.12 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

FirstCash Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at FirstCash

In other news, COO Thomas Brent Stuart sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 150,846 shares in the company, valued at $27,533,920.38. This trade represents a 6.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard F. Hambleton sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.12, for a total value of $740,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 35,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,554,358.72. The trade was a 10.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 26,500 shares of company stock worth $4,783,985 over the last three months. 2.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of FirstCash by 2.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,096,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $649,040,000 after purchasing an additional 83,113 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of FirstCash by 36.4% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,169,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,361,000 after purchasing an additional 312,132 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of FirstCash by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,043,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $166,367,000 after purchasing an additional 31,550 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of FirstCash by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,009,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,850,000 after purchasing an additional 5,626 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC raised its position in FirstCash by 1.0% during the third quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 857,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,847,000 after acquiring an additional 8,610 shares in the last quarter. 80.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.