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

FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $167.00.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of FirstCash in a report on Monday, December 8th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of FirstCash in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of FirstCash in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research cut shares of FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th.

FirstCash Trading Down 0.1%

FirstCash stock opened at $170.50 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $163.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $152.87. The company has a quick ratio of 3.72, a current ratio of 4.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. FirstCash has a 12 month low of $106.77 and a 12 month high of $174.51. The stock has a market cap of $7.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.60 and a beta of 0.49.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $904.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $845.28 million. FirstCash had a return on equity of 17.44% and a net margin of 8.88%.FirstCash’s quarterly revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that FirstCash will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

FirstCash announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 2.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Thomas Brent Stuart sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer owned 127,724 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,432,008.28. This represents a 7.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Randel G. Owen sold 1,500 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.20, for a total transaction of $228,300.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,164,482.20. This represents a 16.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 41,000 shares of company stock valued at $6,481,395. 14.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of FirstCash

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FCFS. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of FirstCash in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in FirstCash in the second quarter worth $25,000. Community Bank N.A. bought a new stake in shares of FirstCash during the third quarter worth $32,000. Finally, High Point Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FirstCash in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.