Alps Advisors Inc. Sells 20,541 Shares of FirstCash Holdings, Inc. $FCFS

Key Points

• Alps Advisors cut its FirstCash stake by 48.7% in the third quarter, selling 20,541 shares and retaining 21,660 shares valued at about $4.6 million.
• FirstCash reported quarterly EPS of $2.68, topping estimates of $2.63, while revenue rose 17.7% year over year to $1.10 billion. The board also authorized a $200 million share repurchase program.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend from $0.42 to $0.46 per share. Analysts’ consensus rating was “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $247.50.

Alps Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS - Free Report) by 48.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,660 shares of the company's stock after selling 20,541 shares during the quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. owned about 0.05% of FirstCash worth $4,575,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FCFS. Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of FirstCash by 26.3% during the 3rd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,756 shares of the company's stock worth $371,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in FirstCash by 331.3% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 20,133 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,253,000 after purchasing an additional 15,465 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its position in FirstCash by 22.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 350 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in FirstCash by 3.3% during the third quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 8,241 shares of the company's stock worth $1,741,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinkerton Wealth LLC acquired a new position in FirstCash during the third quarter worth $222,000. 80.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at FirstCash

In other FirstCash news, CFO R. Orr sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.00, for a total value of $432,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,502,544. This represents a 5.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.20, for a total transaction of $829,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 14,098 shares of company stock valued at $3,051,281 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on FCFS shares. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of FirstCash in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Loop Capital upgraded shares of FirstCash from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $255.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of FirstCash from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of FirstCash from $242.00 to $235.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of FirstCash from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $247.50.

FirstCash Price Performance

Shares of FCFS opened at $185.67 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 3.42 and a current ratio of 4.81. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $146.95 and a fifty-two week high of $238.93. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $209.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $206.43. The company has a market capitalization of $7.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.12 and a beta of 0.59.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.05. FirstCash had a net margin of 9.48% and a return on equity of 20.17%. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.86 EPS. FirstCash's revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 11.03 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstCash announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, October 28th that allows the company to repurchase $200 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

FirstCash Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 24th. Investors of record on Friday, November 13th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. This is a positive change from FirstCash's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. FirstCash's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.93%.

About FirstCash

FirstCash Holdings, Inc operates pawn stores that provide short-term, non-recourse loans secured by personal property and sell previously owned merchandise. Its stores also purchase items from customers, including jewelry, electronics, tools and other goods.

The company serves customers in the United States and Latin America, including Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Colombia. Its retail operations offer a range of pre-owned goods, with jewelry among its key product categories.

FirstCash was formed in 2016 through the merger of First Cash Financial Services and Cash America International.

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