Castleark Management LLC Takes $9.75 Million Position in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. $FCFS

Key Points

• Castleark Management LLC opened a new position in FirstCash, buying 61,200 shares worth about $9.75 million in the fourth quarter, according to its latest 13F filing.
• FirstCash reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.69 beating estimates by $0.39 and revenue of $1.05 billion topping expectations; revenue also rose 25.7% year over year.
• The stock has been supported by heavy institutional ownership and positive analyst sentiment, even as some insiders recently sold shares. Institutional investors own about 80.3% of the company, and analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Buy.

Castleark Management LLC purchased a new stake in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 61,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,754,000. Castleark Management LLC owned 0.14% of FirstCash as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of FirstCash by 2.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,096,956 shares of the company's stock valued at $649,040,000 after purchasing an additional 83,113 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in FirstCash by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,043,699 shares of the company's stock worth $166,367,000 after acquiring an additional 31,550 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in FirstCash by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,009,170 shares of the company's stock worth $160,850,000 after acquiring an additional 5,626 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in FirstCash by 4.0% during the third quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 742,610 shares of the company's stock worth $117,644,000 after acquiring an additional 28,704 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in FirstCash by 67.6% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 623,059 shares of the company's stock worth $97,503,000 after acquiring an additional 251,305 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.30% of the company's stock.

FirstCash Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of NASDAQ FCFS opened at $224.89 on Friday. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $216.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $189.10. The company has a market cap of $9.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.18 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 3.42, a current ratio of 4.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $119.21 and a 12-month high of $235.97.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.39. FirstCash had a net margin of 9.15% and a return on equity of 18.68%. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.07 EPS. The company's revenue was up 25.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 11.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstCash Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. FirstCash's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FCFS. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of FirstCash from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of FirstCash from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, May 10th. 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 report on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research raised shares of FirstCash from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $198.00.

Insider Activity at FirstCash

In other FirstCash news, SVP Raul Ramos sold 6,835 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 20,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,594,692. This represents a 25.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Thomas Brent Stuart sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.49, for a total transaction of $2,284,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 140,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,181,902.54. The trade was a 6.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 27,500 shares of company stock worth $6,243,104. Insiders own 2.86% of the company's stock.

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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