FirstCash Holdings, Inc. $FCFS Shares Purchased by SG Americas Securities LLC

Key Points

• SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its FirstCash stake by 251.2% in the first quarter, buying 9,321 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 13,032 shares valued at about $2.45 million.
• FirstCash reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.69 beating estimates by $0.39 and revenue of $1.05 billion topping expectations, while revenue rose 25.7% from a year earlier.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, and analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” on average, though one recent downgrade pulled the consensus price target to $198.

SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS - Free Report) by 251.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,032 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 9,321 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in FirstCash were worth $2,450,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCFS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in FirstCash by 96.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 240,441 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,091,000 after buying an additional 117,788 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of FirstCash by 9.3% during the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 474,977 shares of the company's stock worth $89,296,000 after acquiring an additional 40,535 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in FirstCash by 70,840.3% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 43,983 shares of the company's stock worth $7,010,000 after purchasing an additional 43,921 shares in the last quarter. Brant Point Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in FirstCash in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,391,000. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its position in FirstCash by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 537,734 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,704,000 after purchasing an additional 115,279 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.30% of the company's stock.

FirstCash Trading Up 1.0%

NASDAQ FCFS opened at $218.41 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $9.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.37 and a beta of 0.53. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $119.21 and a 12 month high of $235.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 4.77 and a quick ratio of 3.42. The company has a 50-day moving average of $221.87 and a 200-day moving average of $195.06.

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

FirstCash Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. FirstCash's payout ratio is presently 21.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Paula K. Garrett sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.40, for a total transaction of $326,100.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,564 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,427,013.60. This trade represents a 18.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO R Douglas Orr sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.29, for a total value of $454,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 35,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,121,980.86. This represents a 5.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 27,500 shares of company stock worth $6,243,104. Company insiders own 2.86% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on FCFS shares. Zacks Research downgraded FirstCash from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of FirstCash from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, May 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of FirstCash from $242.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of FirstCash from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, TD Cowen upped 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, FirstCash has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $198.00.

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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