Azora Capital LP Invests $45.58 Million in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. $FCFS

Key Points

• Azora Capital initiated a $45.58 million FirstCash position during the second quarter, acquiring 210,705 shares, or approximately 0.49% of the company. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 80.30% of FCFS.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with four Buy ratings and one Hold rating; FirstCash has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $249 price target. TD Cowen raised its target to $240, while Loop Capital upgraded the stock to Buy with a $255 target.
• FirstCash reported quarterly earnings of $2.50 per share and revenue of $1.07 billion, exceeding estimates, with revenue up 29.4% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, representing a 0.8% yield.

Azora Capital LP purchased a new stake in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 210,705 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,580,000. FirstCash makes up approximately 1.9% of Azora Capital LP's portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Azora Capital LP owned approximately 0.49% of FirstCash as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FirstCash during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in FirstCash during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in FirstCash by 490.9% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 195 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in FirstCash during the second quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. 80.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FCFS. TD Cowen lifted their price target on FirstCash from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company 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. Zacks Research downgraded shares of FirstCash from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of FirstCash from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of FirstCash from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, May 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, FirstCash currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $249.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other FirstCash news, insider Howard F. Hambleton sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $425,960.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,475,869.88. This represents a 6.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing 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, SVP Raul Ramos sold 6,835 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.23, for a total transaction of $1,539,447.05. Following the sale, 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 17,183 shares of company stock worth $3,761,228 in the last quarter. 2.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

FirstCash Stock Down 4.2%

Shares of NASDAQ FCFS opened at $219.82 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.09 and a beta of 0.53. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.56 and a 52-week high of $238.93. 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 company's 50 day moving average price is $214.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $208.32.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. FirstCash's revenue for the quarter was up 29.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstCash Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. FirstCash's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.18%.

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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