Insider Selling: FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) COO Sells 10,000 Shares of Stock

FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) COO Thomas Brent Stuart sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $27,533,920.38. The trade was a 6.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

FirstCash Price Performance

Shares of FCFS stock traded up $2.01 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $183.90. The company had a trading volume of 324,869 shares, compared to its average volume of 275,499. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.78 and a beta of 0.49. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $109.51 and a one year high of $188.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a current ratio of 4.55. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $167.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $156.76.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $2.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.54 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. Equities analysts expect that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstCash Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. FirstCash’s payout ratio is presently 22.64%.

FirstCash announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to buyback $150.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 2.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of FirstCash in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in FirstCash in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its holdings in FirstCash by 127.8% during the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 180 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of FirstCash by 490.9% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Finally, Community Bank N.A. bought a new stake in shares of FirstCash in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. 80.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Research cut FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of FirstCash in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $217.00 target price on FirstCash in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of FirstCash in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.40.

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.