FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $167.00.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of FirstCash from $181.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of FirstCash in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of FirstCash from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Zacks Research lowered shares of FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of FirstCash in a research note on Monday, December 8th.

FirstCash Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of FCFS opened at $165.66 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 4.99, a quick ratio of 3.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $7.31 billion, a PE ratio of 23.90 and a beta of 0.52. FirstCash has a 1 year low of $104.99 and a 1 year high of $167.31. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $159.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $148.60.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that FirstCash will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstCash announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, October 30th that allows the company to buyback $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 2.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

FirstCash Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. FirstCash’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other FirstCash news, insider Howard F. Hambleton sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,352,372.94. This trade represents a 13.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO R Douglas Orr sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.45, for a total transaction of $396,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 38,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,058,177.30. This represents a 6.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 48,500 shares of company stock valued at $7,678,508 in the last 90 days. 2.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of FirstCash

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in FirstCash during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its stake in shares of FirstCash by 127.8% in the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of FirstCash during the second quarter worth $25,000. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new position in shares of FirstCash during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of FirstCash by 70.5% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. 80.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.