Comerica Bank Lowers Stock Holdings in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. $FCFS

Key Points

• Comerica Bank cut its stake in FirstCash by 54.0% in Q4, selling 21,673 shares and leaving 18,483 shares valued at about $2.95 million; institutional investors now own roughly 80.3% of the company.
• FirstCash beat expectations for the quarter with EPS $2.69 versus $2.30 and revenue of $1.05 billion (up 25.7% year-over-year), and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share (0.8% yield).
• Insiders sold 28,000 shares worth about $5.11 million in the last 90 days (including a 10,000-share sale by the COO), while analysts maintain a consensus "Buy" rating with an average price target of $198.

Comerica Bank decreased its position in shares of FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS - Free Report) by 54.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,483 shares of the company's stock after selling 21,673 shares during the period. Comerica Bank's holdings in FirstCash were worth $2,946,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in FirstCash by 2.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC raised its position in FirstCash by 1.0% during the third quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 857,510 shares of the company's stock valued at $135,847,000 after purchasing an additional 8,610 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in FirstCash by 4.0% during the third quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 742,610 shares of the company's stock valued at $117,644,000 after purchasing an additional 28,704 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised 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 valued at $97,503,000 after purchasing an additional 251,305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its position in FirstCash by 1.3% during the third quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 584,487 shares of the company's stock valued at $92,594,000 after purchasing an additional 7,736 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.30% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at FirstCash

In other FirstCash news, insider Howard F. Hambleton sold 4,000 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.12, for a total transaction of $740,480.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 35,406 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,554,358.72. The trade was a 10.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Thomas Brent Stuart sold 10,000 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.53, for a total value of $1,825,300.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 150,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,533,920.38. The trade was a 6.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 28,000 shares of company stock valued at $5,110,085. Insiders own 14.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on FCFS. Wall Street Zen upgraded FirstCash from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Zacks Research upgraded FirstCash from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on FirstCash from $242.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings downgraded FirstCash from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on FirstCash from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $198.00.

FirstCash Stock Performance

FirstCash stock opened at $221.51 on Tuesday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $197.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $175.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 3.42 and a current ratio of 4.77. The stock has a market cap of $9.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.76 and a beta of 0.52. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $119.21 and a fifty-two week high of $227.26.

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

FirstCash Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. FirstCash's payout ratio is presently 21.05%.

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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