FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) Cut to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Sunday.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on FCFS. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $217.00 target price on shares of FirstCash in a research report on Friday, February 6th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of FirstCash in a report on Friday, October 31st. Zacks Research downgraded FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of FirstCash in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.40.

FirstCash Stock Performance

NASDAQ FCFS opened at $183.90 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.36, a current ratio of 4.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. FirstCash has a fifty-two week low of $109.51 and a fifty-two week high of $188.75. The business has a fifty day moving average of $168.25 and a 200-day moving average of $157.13. The stock has a market cap of $8.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.78 and a beta of 0.49.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $2.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 19.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that FirstCash will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstCash Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.9%. FirstCash’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.64%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other FirstCash news, insider Howard F. Hambleton sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.74, for a total value of $654,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 26,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,352,372.94. This trade represents a 13.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Randel G. Owen sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.20, for a total transaction of $228,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 7,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,164,482.20. This trade represents a 16.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 28,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,926,765. Insiders own 14.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of FirstCash

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in FirstCash during the 2nd quarter worth $336,000. Drive Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of FirstCash during the second quarter worth about $230,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 33,070 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in FirstCash by 1.7% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 388,635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,520,000 after buying an additional 6,633 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in FirstCash by 26.0% in the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 33,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,522,000 after buying an additional 6,907 shares during the last quarter. 80.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FirstCash News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting FirstCash this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Coverage highlighting FirstCash as a stabilizing holding for the Nasdaq financial sector supports demand from index/ETF managers and defensive-focused buyers; that narrative can lift multiple and interest in the stock. How FirstCash Provides Stability To Nasdaq Index Fund Financial Sector
• Positive Sentiment: Reported decline in short interest (article cites a 12.5% drop) reduces downward pressure from short sellers and can mechanically support the share price as bearish positions unwind. Short Interest in FirstCash Declines By 12.5%
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation write-ups after recent share-price momentum note that FirstCash has seen strong gains and suggest investors reassess fair value — useful context but not an immediate catalyst. A Look At FirstCash Valuation After Strong Recent Share Price Momentum
• Neutral Sentiment: Some short-interest data in filings shows zero shares / NaN changes for the reporting period — likely a data glitch or reporting artifact; interpret short-interest trends using multiple sources. (Source: market data feed entry)
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sales by senior executives could be perceived negatively by investors even if routine: COO Thomas Brent Stuart sold 10,000 shares at ~$182.53 (~$1.83M) and CFO R. Douglas Orr sold 3,000 shares across filings at ~\$182.98, reducing their holdings. These SEC-filed sales may create short-term sentiment pressure. COO Form 4 CFO Form 4

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.