FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) Lowered to “Buy” Rating by Wall Street Zen

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on FCFS. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of FirstCash in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of FirstCash in a report on Friday, October 31st. Zacks Research lowered FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of FirstCash in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on FirstCash from $181.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $167.00.

FirstCash Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FCFS opened at $164.91 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.72, a current ratio of 4.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $159.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $148.96. The company has a market cap of $7.28 billion, a PE ratio of 23.80 and a beta of 0.52. FirstCash has a twelve month low of $104.99 and a twelve month high of $168.36.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $904.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $845.28 million. FirstCash had a net margin of 8.88% and a return on equity of 17.44%. The company’s revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.67 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that FirstCash will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

FirstCash declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to repurchase $150.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 2.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other FirstCash news, CFO R Douglas Orr sold 4,000 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.64, for a total value of $638,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 93,567 shares in the company, valued at $14,937,035.88. The trade was a 4.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Randel G. Owen sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.20, for a total value of $228,300.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,164,482.20. The trade was a 16.39% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 48,500 shares of company stock valued at $7,678,508 over the last three months. 2.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in FirstCash during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in FirstCash in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its stake in shares of FirstCash by 127.8% during the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. bought a new stake in shares of FirstCash during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 70.5% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 220 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. 80.30% of the stock is currently 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.