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

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded FirstCash from “hold” to “buy,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $249.
• FirstCash reported quarterly EPS of $2.50, beating estimates of $2.39, while revenue rose 29.4% year over year to $1.07 billion.
• Shares opened at $217.45, near their 50- and 200-day moving averages; insiders sold approximately $3.05 million of stock over the past three months, primarily through pre-arranged trading plans.

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

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

FirstCash Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of FCFS opened at $217.45 on Friday. FirstCash has a 1-year low of $146.08 and a 1-year high of $238.93. The company has a 50-day moving average of $215.18 and a 200 day moving average of $213.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.82 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 4.89 and a quick ratio of 3.51.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 9.42% and a return on equity of 19.65%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 29.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that FirstCash will post 11.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Thomas Stuart sold 5,348 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.63, for a total value of $1,147,841.24. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 135,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,081,935.74. This trade represents a 3.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO R. Orr sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.00, for a total value of $432,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,502,544. The trade was a 5.44% 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 have sold 14,098 shares of company stock worth $3,051,281 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.86% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstCash

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCFS. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FirstCash in the first quarter worth $26,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in FirstCash in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of FirstCash during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 113.2% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in FirstCash by 531.7% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 259 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.30% of the company's stock.

FirstCash Company Profile

FirstCash, Inc NASDAQ: FCFS is a specialty consumer-finance and retail company focused primarily on pawn-based lending. Through its pawn stores, the company provides short-term, non-recourse loans secured by personal property, allowing customers to obtain cash without traditional credit underwriting. Customers may repay the loan and reclaim the pledged item or forfeit the collateral under applicable regulations.

FirstCash also generates revenue by selling merchandise obtained through forfeited pawn loans and by purchasing used goods directly from consumers.

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