11,200 Shares in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. $FCFS Acquired by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System opened a new position in FirstCash, buying 11,200 shares worth about $2.1 million in the first quarter.
• FirstCash reported a strong quarter, with EPS of $2.69 beating estimates and revenue rising 25.7% year over year to $1.05 billion.
• Analysts remain mostly positive, with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $198, though a few firms recently trimmed their ratings.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 11,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,106,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in shares of FirstCash by 490.9% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 195 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new stake in FirstCash during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. High Point Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in FirstCash in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in FirstCash by 531.7% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 259 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of FirstCash during the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FCFS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of FirstCash from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of FirstCash from $242.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. TD Cowen boosted their target price 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. Wall Street Zen lowered FirstCash from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, May 10th. Finally, Zacks Research cut FirstCash from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $198.00.

FirstCash Stock Up 0.5%

FirstCash stock opened at $216.32 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $221.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $194.66. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $119.21 and a twelve month high of $235.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.11 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 4.77, a quick ratio of 3.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.39. FirstCash had a return on equity of 18.68% and a net margin of 9.15%.The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.07 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 25.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 11.3 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstCash Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. FirstCash's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.05%.

Insider Activity at FirstCash

In related news, CFO R Douglas Orr sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.29, for a total value of $454,580.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 35,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,121,980.86. This represents a 5.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Raul Ramos sold 6,835 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.23, for a total value of $1,539,447.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 20,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,594,692. This trade represents a 25.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,500 shares of company stock worth $6,243,104. 2.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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