Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Cuts Stock Position in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. $FCFS

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP has reduced its stake in FirstCash Holdings by 3.4%, now owning approximately 2.27% of the company, valued at around $121 million.
• FirstCash recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.38 to $0.42, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.2%.
• Analyst ratings for FirstCash have improved, with Jefferies Financial Group upgrading the stock to a "strong-buy" rating and a consensus price target of $142.33.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP decreased its holdings in shares of FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS - Free Report) by 3.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,007,567 shares of the company's stock after selling 35,964 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 2.27% of FirstCash worth $121,227,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Xponance Inc. lifted its position in shares of FirstCash by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 5,552 shares of the company's stock valued at $668,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC lifted its holdings in FirstCash by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 5,757 shares of the company's stock valued at $693,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its holdings in FirstCash by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 9,315 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,121,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in FirstCash by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 10,900 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,311,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in FirstCash by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 8,559 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.30% of the company's stock.

FirstCash Trading Up 0.6%

FCFS traded up $0.90 on Wednesday, hitting $148.15. The company had a trading volume of 19,183 shares, compared to its average volume of 305,082. The firm has a market cap of $6.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.79 and a beta of 0.68. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $100.24 and a 1 year high of $148.27. The company's fifty day moving average price is $133.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $126.57. The company has a current ratio of 4.21, a quick ratio of 3.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $830.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $820.42 million. FirstCash had a net margin of 8.61% and a return on equity of 16.63%. FirstCash's revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.37 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstCash Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This is an increase from FirstCash's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. FirstCash's payout ratio is presently 25.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FCFS. Wall Street Zen lowered FirstCash from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of FirstCash in a report on Monday, August 18th. Capital One Financial set a $160.00 price objective on FirstCash in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded FirstCash to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $142.33.

Insider Activity at FirstCash

In related news, CEO Rick L. Wessel sold 30,976 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.33, for a total value of $4,315,886.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 901,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $125,673,152.06. The trade was a 3.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Howard F. Hambleton sold 3,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.93, for a total transaction of $510,627.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 32,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,252,737.33. This trade represents a 10.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 109,900 shares of company stock worth $15,193,007. Company insiders own 14.77% of the company's stock.

FirstCash Profile

FirstCash Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates retail pawn stores in the United States, Mexico, and rest of Latin America. The company operates in three segments: U.S. Pawn, Latin America Pawn, and Retail POS Payment Solutions segments. Its pawn stores lend money on the collateral of pledged personal property, including jewelry, electronics, tools, appliances, sporting goods, and musical instruments; and retails merchandise acquired through collateral forfeitures on forfeited pawn loans and over-the-counter purchases of merchandise directly from customers.