California State Teachers Retirement System Buys 9,925,473 Shares of FirstCash Holdings, Inc. $FCFS

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System increased its FirstCash stake by 9.93 million shares, ending the quarter with 9.97 million shares valued at $2.16 billion, or 22.99% of the company. Overall, institutional investors own 80.30% of FCFS.
• FirstCash reported quarterly EPS of $2.50, beating estimates of $2.39, while revenue rose 29.4% year over year to $1.07 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42, equivalent to a 0.7% yield.
• Insiders sold 14,098 shares worth approximately $3.05 million over the past three months. Analysts remain broadly positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and a $249 average price target versus the stock’s $228.38 opening price.

California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS - Free Report) by 21,984.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,970,621 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,925,473 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 22.99% of FirstCash worth $2,156,845,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of FirstCash in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,088,429,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of FirstCash during the 2nd quarter valued at $248,059,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of FirstCash during the 2nd quarter worth $69,779,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of FirstCash by 133.8% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 562,104 shares of the company's stock worth $89,588,000 after purchasing an additional 321,663 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $186,361,000 after buying an additional 312,132 shares during the last quarter. 80.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at FirstCash

In other FirstCash news, Director James Graves sold 3,750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.20, for a total value of $829,500.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,929 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,638,694.80. The trade was a 23.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Howard Hambleton sold 2,000 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $425,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,406 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,475,869.88. This represents a 6.17% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 14,098 shares of company stock worth $3,051,281. Insiders own 2.86% of the company's stock.

FirstCash Price Performance

Shares of FirstCash stock opened at $228.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 3.51 and a current ratio of 4.89. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.42 and a 52-week high of $238.93. The company has a fifty day moving average of $214.99 and a 200-day moving average of $211.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.07 and a beta of 0.53.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.34 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 11.85 EPS for the current year.

FirstCash Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. FirstCash's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FCFS shares. Loop Capital upgraded shares of FirstCash from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $255.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, August 10th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on FirstCash from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered FirstCash from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 5th. Weiss Ratings cut FirstCash from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded FirstCash from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $249.00.

About FirstCash

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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