California Public Employees Retirement System Takes $10.42 Million Position in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. $FCFS

California Public Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 55,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,423,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCFS. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its stake in FirstCash by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 474,977 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,296,000 after acquiring an additional 40,535 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of FirstCash by 70,840.3% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 43,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,010,000 after acquiring an additional 43,921 shares in the last quarter. Fourth Sail Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of FirstCash in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $17,439,000. Brant Point Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of FirstCash in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,391,000. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 537,734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,704,000 after purchasing an additional 115,279 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.30% of the company’s stock.

More FirstCash News

Here are the key news stories impacting FirstCash this week:

• Positive Sentiment: FirstCash posted record second-quarter results, with EPS of $2.50 beating estimates of $2.39 and revenue of $1.07 billion topping the $1.03 billion consensus. Management also said pawn demand helped drive a 58% increase in GAAP EPS and a 40% increase in adjusted EPS. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, signaling continued cash generation and shareholder returns. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: FirstCash also authorized a new $150 million share repurchase plan after completing its prior program, which can support earnings per share and investor confidence. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no meaningful short position reported, so it does not add a clear new catalyst for the shares.

FirstCash Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FCFS opened at $195.06 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $219.55 and a 200 day moving average of $201.09. The company has a quick ratio of 3.42, a current ratio of 4.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $8.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.27 and a beta of 0.53. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $119.21 and a 52 week high of $235.97.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. FirstCash had a return on equity of 19.65% and a net margin of 9.42%.The business’s revenue was up 29.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstCash Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. FirstCash’s payout ratio is 19.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other FirstCash news, SVP Raul Ramos sold 6,835 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.23, for a total transaction of $1,539,447.05. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 20,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,594,692. This represents a 25.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO R Douglas Orr sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.29, for a total transaction of $454,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 35,734 shares in the company, valued at $8,121,980.86. This represents a 5.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 27,500 shares of company stock valued at $6,243,104 in the last three months. 2.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FCFS has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, May 10th. TD Cowen upped their target price on FirstCash from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on FirstCash from $242.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research lowered FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded FirstCash from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday. One research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.25.

FirstCash Company Profile

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.