FirstCash Holdings, Inc. $FCFS Shares Acquired by AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc

Key Points

• AEGON Asset Management UK increased its FirstCash stake by 20.7% in the third quarter, to 95,526 shares worth about $20.2 million; institutional investors collectively own 80.3% of the stock.
• FirstCash reported quarterly EPS of $2.68, beating estimates of $2.63, while revenue rose 17.7% year over year to $1.10 billion.
• The board authorized a $200 million share-repurchase program, and FirstCash raised its quarterly dividend from $0.42 to $0.46 per share.

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lifted its stake in shares of FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS - Free Report) by 20.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 95,526 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 16,392 shares during the quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc owned approximately 0.22% of FirstCash worth $20,178,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FCFS. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its position in shares of FirstCash by 3.2% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 41,157 shares of the company's stock worth $8,694,000 after acquiring an additional 1,257 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in FirstCash by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,119 shares of the company's stock valued at $649,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 21.2% in the third quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,170 shares of the company's stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. grew its holdings in FirstCash by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 191,858 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,674,000 after buying an additional 12,213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in FirstCash by 26.3% during the 3rd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,756 shares of the company's stock valued at $371,000 after buying an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.30% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at FirstCash

In other FirstCash news, Director James Graves sold 3,750 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,929 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,638,694.80. This represents a 23.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO R. Orr sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.00, for a total value of $432,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,734 shares in the company, valued at $7,502,544. The trade was a 5.44% 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. Insiders have sold 14,098 shares of company stock valued at $3,051,281 over the last 90 days. 2.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

FirstCash Price Performance

Shares of FCFS stock opened at $187.83 on Tuesday. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $146.95 and a 52-week high of $238.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 3.42 and a current ratio of 4.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $209.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $206.51.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.05. FirstCash had a return on equity of 20.17% and a net margin of 9.48%. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.86 EPS. FirstCash's revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 11.03 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstCash declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, October 28th that permits the company to repurchase $200 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

FirstCash Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. This is an increase from FirstCash's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. FirstCash's payout ratio is currently 18.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on FCFS shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of FirstCash from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered FirstCash from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, October 10th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of FirstCash in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Loop Capital raised FirstCash from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $255.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on FirstCash from $242.00 to $235.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $247.50.

FirstCash Profile

FirstCash Holdings, Inc operates pawn stores that provide short-term, non-recourse loans secured by personal property and sell previously owned merchandise. Its stores also purchase items from customers, including jewelry, electronics, tools and other goods.

The company serves customers in the United States and Latin America, including Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Colombia. Its retail operations offer a range of pre-owned goods, with jewelry among its key product categories.

FirstCash was formed in 2016 through the merger of First Cash Financial Services and Cash America International.

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