5,487 Shares in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. $FCFS Acquired by Exchange Traded Concepts LLC

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 5,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $869,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of FirstCash during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in FirstCash by 181.6% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. CX Institutional lifted its holdings in FirstCash by 24.7% during the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in FirstCash by 169.9% during the second quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new position in FirstCash during the first quarter worth about $65,000. 80.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FirstCash Price Performance

NASDAQ:FCFS opened at $160.96 on Monday. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $101.75 and a 52-week high of $166.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $158.26 and a 200 day moving average of $146.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 3.72 and a current ratio of 4.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.23 and a beta of 0.53.

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

FirstCash Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. FirstCash’s payout ratio is presently 24.24%.

FirstCash declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to repurchase $150.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on FCFS shares. Zacks Research raised shares of FirstCash from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of FirstCash in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of FirstCash in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded FirstCash from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Loop Capital cut FirstCash from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $167.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Rick L. Wessel sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Thomas Brent Stuart sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.97, for a total value of $1,599,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 127,724 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,432,008.28. This represents a 7.26% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 48,500 shares of company stock worth $7,678,508. 14.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.