Oak Ridge Investments LLC Buys New Position in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. $FCFS

Key Points

• Oak Ridge Investments LLC initiated a new position in FirstCash, buying 11,650 shares worth about $1.86 million, and institutional/hedge funds now own roughly 80.3% of the stock.
• FirstCash reported a quarterly earnings beat (EPS $2.64 vs. $2.54 expected) with revenue of $1.06 billion, up 19.8% year-over-year, supporting stronger fundamentals.
• Company insiders have been net sellers recently — 26,500 shares sold in the last 90 days (≈$4.78 million) and insiders now own about 14.77% of the stock.

Oak Ridge Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 11,650 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,857,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of FirstCash in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its stake in shares of FirstCash by 127.8% in the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 180 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of FirstCash in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of FirstCash by 70.5% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 220 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of FirstCash in the third quarter worth about $48,000. 80.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FCFS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded FirstCash from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen downgraded FirstCash from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, February 15th. Zacks Research downgraded FirstCash from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on FirstCash from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, FirstCash presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $183.25.

Insider Activity at FirstCash

In other FirstCash news, insider Howard F. Hambleton sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.12, for a total transaction of $740,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 35,406 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,554,358.72. This trade represents a 10.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Thomas Brent Stuart sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.53, for a total value of $1,825,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 150,846 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,533,920.38. This represents a 6.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 26,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,783,985. 14.77% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

FirstCash Stock Performance

NASDAQ FCFS opened at $204.49 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $9.00 billion, a PE ratio of 27.56 and a beta of 0.47. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $189.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $170.33. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $119.00 and a 1-year high of $206.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 4.55 and a quick ratio of 3.36.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $2.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.54 by $0.10. FirstCash had a return on equity of 17.99% and a net margin of 9.02%.The business had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.12 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 19.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstCash Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 18th were issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 18th. FirstCash's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.64%.

FirstCash Company 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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