Capital Research Global Investors Increases Stake in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. $FCFS

Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) by 33.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 536,961 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 134,849 shares during the quarter. Capital Research Global Investors owned about 1.22% of FirstCash worth $85,581,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its stake in FirstCash by 127.8% during the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 180 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. bought a new stake in FirstCash during the third quarter worth about $32,000. High Point Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in FirstCash during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in FirstCash during the third quarter worth about $48,000. Institutional investors own 80.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FCFS has been the topic of several research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of FirstCash from $242.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research raised shares of FirstCash from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of FirstCash from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of FirstCash from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $198.00.

Insider Activity at FirstCash

In related news, Director Paula K. Garrett sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.40, for a total transaction of $326,100.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,564 shares in the company, valued at $1,427,013.60. This represents a 18.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO R Douglas Orr sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.29, for a total transaction of $454,580.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 35,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,121,980.86. This trade represents a 5.30% decrease in their position. 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 have sold 27,500 shares of company stock valued at $6,243,104 over the last quarter. 2.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

FirstCash Trading Down 0.8%

NASDAQ:FCFS opened at $223.74 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $214.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $187.40. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $119.21 and a 52 week high of $235.97. The company has a quick ratio of 3.42, a current ratio of 4.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market cap of $9.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.04 and a beta of 0.52.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.39. FirstCash had a net margin of 9.15% and a return on equity of 18.68%. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 11.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstCash Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. FirstCash’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.05%.

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.