FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $172.66 and last traded at $171.31, with a volume of 21687 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.10.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on FCFS shares. Zacks Research cut shares of FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of FirstCash in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of FirstCash in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of FirstCash in a research report on Monday, December 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, FirstCash currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $167.00.

FirstCash Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $7.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.57 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 3.72, a current ratio of 4.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $160.78 and a 200-day moving average of $150.56.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.35. FirstCash had a net margin of 8.88% and a return on equity of 17.44%. The firm had revenue of $904.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $845.28 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstCash Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th were issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. FirstCash’s payout ratio is presently 24.24%.

FirstCash announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that allows the company to repurchase $150.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 2.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other FirstCash news, COO Thomas Brent Stuart sold 10,000 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.97, for a total value of $1,599,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 127,724 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,432,008.28. This trade represents a 7.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Rick L. Wessel sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.39, for a total value of $3,127,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 866,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $135,587,314.98. The trade was a 2.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 41,000 shares of company stock worth $6,481,395 over the last quarter. 14.77% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of FirstCash

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State of Wyoming raised its holdings in FirstCash by 4.3% during the third quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC increased its position 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 buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of FirstCash by 0.5% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,289,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC raised its stake in shares of FirstCash by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 8,703 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,379,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional grew its stake in FirstCash by 24.7% in the 2nd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.