SG Americas Securities LLC Sells 5,848 Shares of FirstCash Holdings, Inc. $FCFS

Key Points

• SG Americas Securities LLC sold 5,848 shares of FirstCash in Q4, reducing its holding by 61.2% to 3,711 shares worth about $591,000.
• Meanwhile several large institutions materially increased or initiated stakes (AQR, Victory, AllianceBernstein, Capital Research, Westfield), leaving institutional ownership at about 80.3%.
• FirstCash beat Q4 estimates (EPS $2.64 vs $2.54; revenue $1.06B, +19.8% YoY), has a market cap of ~$8.87B, and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.42 (annualized $1.68, yield ~0.8%).

SG Americas Securities LLC decreased its holdings in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS - Free Report) by 61.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,711 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,848 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in FirstCash were worth $591,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FCFS. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in shares of FirstCash in the 3rd quarter worth $66,925,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 67.6% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 623,059 shares of the company's stock worth $97,503,000 after purchasing an additional 251,305 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 76.3% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 534,571 shares of the company's stock worth $84,687,000 after purchasing an additional 231,379 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 280.5% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 305,856 shares of the company's stock worth $48,454,000 after purchasing an additional 225,466 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 78.3% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 402,112 shares of the company's stock worth $63,703,000 after purchasing an additional 176,549 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on FCFS shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of FirstCash in a report on Friday, March 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on FirstCash from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Zacks Research lowered FirstCash from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered FirstCash from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, February 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $183.25.

FirstCash Stock Performance

FCFS stock opened at $201.63 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $8.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.17 and a beta of 0.47. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $117.31 and a 1 year high of $203.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 4.55 and a quick ratio of 3.36. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $188.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.84.

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

FirstCash Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at FirstCash

In other 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 value of $740,480.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 35,406 shares in the company, valued at $6,554,358.72. This trade represents a 10.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 150,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,533,920.38. This trade represents a 6.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 26,500 shares of company stock worth $4,783,985 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.93% of the company's stock.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding FCFS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.