Lazard Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. $FCFS

Key Points

• Lazard Asset Management reduced its FirstCash stake by 29.9% in the first quarter, selling 6,956 shares and retaining 16,309 shares worth approximately $3.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 80.3% of the company.
• FirstCash reported quarterly revenue of $1.07 billion, up 29.4% year over year and above estimates, while EPS of $2.50 exceeded consensus by $0.11. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42, representing a 0.8% yield.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with one Strong Buy, three Buy and two Hold ratings; the consensus price target is $199.25. Company insiders sold 26,000 shares worth about $5.9 million over the past 90 days.

Lazard Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS - Free Report) by 29.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,309 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,956 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in FirstCash were worth $3,066,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of FirstCash during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of FirstCash in the first quarter worth $29,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in FirstCash by 490.9% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 195 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. High Point Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in FirstCash during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in FirstCash by 113.2% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. 80.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FirstCash Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FCFS opened at $204.01 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.51, a current ratio of 4.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $217.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $202.48. The stock has a market cap of $8.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.29 and a beta of 0.53. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $128.90 and a twelve month high of $235.97.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.11. FirstCash had a net margin of 9.42% and a return on equity of 19.65%. The business had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 29.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 11.85 EPS for the current year.

FirstCash Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. FirstCash's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FCFS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of FirstCash from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, May 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped 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. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of FirstCash from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. TD Cowen raised their target price on FirstCash from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded FirstCash from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $199.25.

Insider Transactions at FirstCash

In other FirstCash news, COO Thomas Brent Stuart sold 10,000 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.49, for a total transaction of $2,284,900.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 140,846 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,181,902.54. The trade was a 6.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Howard F. Hambleton sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was 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 $7,337,042.46. This trade represents a 8.47% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 26,000 shares of company stock valued at $5,917,004. Insiders own 2.86% of the company's stock.

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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