FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded FirstCash from “Buy” to “Hold,” although the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy,” with four Buy ratings and one Hold rating and an average price target of $249.
• FirstCash reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting $2.50 in EPS versus the $2.39 estimate and $1.07 billion in revenue, up 29.4% year over year.
• The stock opened at $225.62, near its 52-week high of $238.93. Insiders sold $3.05 million of shares over the past 90 days, while institutional investors own approximately 80.3% of the company.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. Zacks Research cut FirstCash from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of FirstCash from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of FirstCash from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $255.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of FirstCash from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, FirstCash presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $249.00.

FirstCash Stock Performance

FCFS opened at $225.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 3.51 and a current ratio of 4.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.76 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a fifty day moving average of $214.19 and a 200 day moving average of $210.01. FirstCash has a fifty-two week low of $144.56 and a fifty-two week high of $238.93.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.11. FirstCash had a net margin of 9.42% and a return on equity of 19.65%. The business had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 29.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that FirstCash will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at FirstCash

In other news, CFO R. Orr sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.00, for a total transaction of $432,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,502,544. This trade represents a 5.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director James H. Graves sold 3,750 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.20, for a total value of $829,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,929 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,638,694.80. The trade was a 23.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 14,098 shares of company stock valued at $3,051,281 over the last 90 days. 2.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCFS. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its holdings in FirstCash by 9.3% during the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 474,977 shares of the company's stock valued at $89,296,000 after buying an additional 40,535 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in FirstCash by 70,840.3% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 43,983 shares of the company's stock worth $7,010,000 after buying an additional 43,921 shares during the period. Fourth Sail Capital LP purchased a new stake in FirstCash during the fourth quarter worth $17,439,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in FirstCash during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,088,429,000. Finally, Brant Point Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in FirstCash during the 4th quarter valued at $2,391,000. 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.

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