FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) Stock Position Raised by Heartland Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Heartland Advisors Inc. increased its stake in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. by 525.6% during the first quarter, owning 67,147 shares valued at approximately $8.08 million.
• FirstCash recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, up from $0.38, with a dividend yield of 1.37%.
• Analysts downgraded FirstCash from a "strong-buy" to a "buy" rating, amid a backdrop of significant insider transactions as well.

Heartland Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS - Free Report) by 525.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 67,147 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 56,414 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned about 0.15% of FirstCash worth $8,079,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in FirstCash by 808.0% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 227 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. CX Institutional purchased a new stake in FirstCash during the 1st quarter worth $42,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in FirstCash by 167.5% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 452 shares of the company's stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its stake in FirstCash by 92.9% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 517 shares of the company's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP increased its stake in FirstCash by 986.5% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 565 shares of the company's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 513 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.30% of the company's stock.

FirstCash Stock Up 4.8%

Shares of FCFS traded up $5.87 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $129.13. The company had a trading volume of 176,336 shares, compared to its average volume of 298,015. The company's 50 day moving average price is $130.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $123.00. The stock has a market cap of $5.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.75 and a beta of 0.62. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $100.24 and a 52 week high of $138.42. The company has a quick ratio of 3.12, a current ratio of 4.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

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

FirstCash Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. This is an increase from FirstCash's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. FirstCash's payout ratio is presently 23.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at FirstCash

In related news, 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 of the company's stock, valued at $4,252,737.33. This represents a 10.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 14.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of FirstCash from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th.

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.