FirstCash Holdings, Inc. $FCFS Stake Raised by Intech Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Institutional ownership increased as Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its FirstCash stake by 28.8% in the fourth quarter, while several other hedge funds also added to their positions. Institutional investors now hold about 80.3% of the company.
• FirstCash posted stronger-than-expected earnings for the quarter, reporting EPS of $2.69 versus estimates of $2.30 and revenue of $1.05 billion, up 25.7% year over year. Analysts now expect full-year EPS of 11.3.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend and saw insider selling, including recent sales by an executive and a director, though the dividend remained modest at $0.42 per share and a 0.8% annualized yield. Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with a consensus rating of “Buy.”

Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS - Free Report) by 28.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,177 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,305 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC owned 0.06% of FirstCash worth $4,491,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,043,699 shares of the company's stock valued at $166,367,000 after buying an additional 31,550 shares during the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 47,861 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,628,000 after buying an additional 2,985 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP raised its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 99,624 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,878,000 after buying an additional 2,526 shares during the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of FirstCash during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 11,848 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,888,000 after buying an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.30% of the company's stock.

FirstCash Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FCFS opened at $219.91 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $210.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $184.85. 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 firm has a market cap of $9.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.56 and a beta of 0.52. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $119.21 and a 1 year high of $235.97.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. FirstCash had a return on equity of 18.68% and a net margin of 9.15%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 25.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.07 EPS. Research analysts forecast that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 11.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstCash Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. FirstCash's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FCFS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research raised FirstCash from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on FirstCash from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of FirstCash from $242.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded FirstCash from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, May 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded FirstCash from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $198.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at FirstCash

In other FirstCash news, insider Howard F. Hambleton sold 3,000 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.41, for a total value of $679,230.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 32,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,337,042.46. The trade was a 8.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Paula K. Garrett sold 1,500 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.40, for a total transaction of $326,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,427,013.60. This trade represents a 18.60% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 17,500 shares of company stock worth $3,972,130. 2.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About FirstCash

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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