Mach 1 Financial Group LLC Takes Position in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. $FCFS

Key Points

• Mach 1 Financial Group disclosed a new fourth-quarter position in FirstCash, buying 4,436 shares valued at about $707,000.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on FirstCash, with several firms raising price targets; the stock now carries an average Buy rating and a consensus target of $198.
• FirstCash reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, while also announcing a $0.42 quarterly dividend payable May 29.

Mach 1 Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 4,436 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $707,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in FirstCash in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 127.8% during the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 180 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new position in shares of FirstCash during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. High Point Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of FirstCash during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 70.5% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 220 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. 80.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Howard F. Hambleton sold 3,000 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 32,406 shares in the company, valued at $7,337,042.46. This trade represents a 8.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 shares were sold at an average price of $217.40, for a total value of $326,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,564 shares in the company, valued at $1,427,013.60. This represents a 18.60% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 17,500 shares of company stock worth $3,972,130. Corporate insiders own 2.86% of the company's stock.

FirstCash Stock Down 0.1%

FCFS stock opened at $226.27 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $206.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $182.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 3.42 and a current ratio of 4.77. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $119.21 and a fifty-two week high of $235.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.35 and a beta of 0.52.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion for 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%.FirstCash's revenue for the quarter was up 25.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 11.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstCash Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. FirstCash's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.05%.

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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