FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) Short Interest Up 47.1% in March

FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 801,793 shares, a growth of 47.1% from the February 26th total of 544,966 shares. Currently, 2.1% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 316,777 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Insider Activity at FirstCash

In other FirstCash news, insider Howard F. Hambleton sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.12, for a total value of $740,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 35,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,554,358.72. This represents a 10.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO R Douglas Orr sold 2,000 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.99, for a total value of $365,980.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 36,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,721,954.66. The trade was a 5.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 26,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,783,985. Corporate insiders own 2.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 96.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 240,441 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,091,000 after purchasing an additional 117,788 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in FirstCash by 685.2% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 37,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,121,000 after buying an additional 33,070 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in FirstCash by 1.0% during the third quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 857,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,847,000 after buying an additional 8,610 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in FirstCash by 76.3% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 534,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,687,000 after buying an additional 231,379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in FirstCash in the third quarter worth approximately $1,361,000. 80.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on FirstCash from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of FirstCash in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research lowered shares of FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, February 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $183.25.

FirstCash Stock Performance

FCFS traded down $1.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $190.88. 347,161 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 338,865. The stock has a market cap of $8.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.73 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $183.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $166.33. 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 has a 12 month low of $116.66 and a 12 month high of $199.60.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last released its earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. FirstCash had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 17.99%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that FirstCash will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstCash Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 18th. FirstCash’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.64%.

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.