FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) Price Target Raised to $240.00

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) had its price target boosted by Canaccord Genuity Group from $217.00 to $240.00 in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of FirstCash in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, February 15th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $183.25.

FirstCash Price Performance

Shares of FCFS stock opened at $192.08 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.89 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $181.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $165.03. FirstCash has a one year low of $114.21 and a one year high of $199.60. 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 (NASDAQ:FCFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $2.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.54 by $0.10. FirstCash had a return on equity of 17.99% and a net margin of 9.02%.The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.12 earnings per share. FirstCash’s quarterly revenue was up 19.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that FirstCash will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

FirstCash Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at FirstCash

In other news, CFO R Douglas Orr sold 2,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 36,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,721,954.66. This represents a 5.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard F. Hambleton sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.12, for a total value of $740,480.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 35,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,554,358.72. This trade represents a 10.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 26,500 shares of company stock worth $4,783,985. Insiders own 14.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in shares of FirstCash in the 3rd quarter valued at $66,925,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in FirstCash by 133.8% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 562,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,588,000 after buying an additional 321,663 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in FirstCash by 36.4% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,169,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,361,000 after buying an additional 312,132 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in FirstCash by 67.6% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 623,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,503,000 after acquiring an additional 251,305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in FirstCash by 76.3% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 534,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,687,000 after acquiring an additional 231,379 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.30% of the company’s stock.

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.