Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. $FCFS

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,096,956 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 83,113 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.09% of FirstCash worth $649,040,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in FirstCash by 685.2% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 37,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,121,000 after acquiring an additional 33,070 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 388,635 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,520,000 after purchasing an additional 6,633 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 26.0% during the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 33,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,522,000 after purchasing an additional 6,907 shares during the period. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FirstCash during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,361,000. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lifted its position in FirstCash by 1.0% in the third quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 857,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,847,000 after buying an additional 8,610 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FCFS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of FirstCash in a report on Friday, October 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $217.00 target price on FirstCash in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Zacks Research cut FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of FirstCash in a report on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, FirstCash has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $177.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO R Douglas Orr sold 4,000 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total transaction of $701,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 111,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,516,751.93. The trade was a 3.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Thomas Brent Stuart sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.53, for a total transaction of $1,825,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 150,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,533,920.38. The trade was a 6.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 30,500 shares of company stock worth $5,438,945 over the last 90 days. 14.77% of the stock is owned by insiders.

FirstCash Trading Down 1.0%

FCFS opened at $181.59 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $169.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $158.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 4.55 and a quick ratio of 3.36. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $109.51 and a 12 month high of $188.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.47 and a beta of 0.49.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $2.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.54 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. FirstCash had a return on equity of 17.99% and a net margin of 9.02%.FirstCash’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.12 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstCash Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. FirstCash’s payout ratio is currently 22.64%.

FirstCash announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, October 30th that allows the company to buyback $150.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 2.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

FirstCash 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.