Aubrey Capital Management Ltd Makes New Investment in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. $FCFS

Key Points

• Aubrey Capital Management Ltd opened a new position in FirstCash Holdings, buying 12,800 shares valued at about $2.4 million, making FCFS its 28th largest holding.
• FirstCash continues to attract major institutional interest, with hedge funds and asset managers such as JPMorgan Chase, Price T Rowe, AQR, and Alliancebernstein increasing their stakes; institutions now own 80.30% of the stock.
• The company reported solid fundamentals, including Q1 EPS of $2.69 versus estimates of $2.30 and revenue of $1.05 billion, while also paying a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share.

Aubrey Capital Management Ltd purchased a new stake in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 12,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,407,000. FirstCash comprises approximately 1.3% of Aubrey Capital Management Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of FCFS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of FirstCash by 133.8% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 562,104 shares of the company's stock valued at $89,588,000 after buying an additional 321,663 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in FirstCash by 36.4% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,169,281 shares of the company's stock valued at $186,361,000 after buying an additional 312,132 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in FirstCash by 67.6% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 623,059 shares of the company's stock worth $97,503,000 after buying an additional 251,305 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in FirstCash by 280.5% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 305,856 shares of the company's stock worth $48,454,000 after buying an additional 225,466 shares during the period. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. bought a new stake in FirstCash during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,371,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.30% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at FirstCash

In related news, CFO R Douglas Orr sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.29, for a total transaction of $454,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 35,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,121,980.86. This represents a 5.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Raul Ramos sold 6,835 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.23, for a total transaction of $1,539,447.05. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 20,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,594,692. This represents a 25.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 27,500 shares of company stock valued at $6,243,104 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.86% of the company's stock.

FirstCash Stock Performance

Shares of FCFS opened at $210.06 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $9.21 billion, a PE ratio of 26.32 and a beta of 0.53. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $119.21 and a one year high of $235.97. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $222.60 and a 200-day moving average of $198.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 4.77 and a quick ratio of 3.42.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. FirstCash had a return on equity of 18.68% and a net margin of 9.15%.FirstCash's revenue for the quarter was up 25.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 11.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstCash Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. FirstCash's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of FirstCash from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered FirstCash from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on FirstCash from $242.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. TD Cowen upped their price target on FirstCash from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded FirstCash from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $199.25.

FirstCash 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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