UBS Group AG Sells 62,396 Shares of FirstCash Holdings, Inc. $FCFS

Key Points

• UBS Group AG cut its FirstCash stake sharply, selling 62,396 shares in the fourth quarter and reducing its position by 58.4% to 44,389 shares worth about $7.1 million.
• FirstCash posted strong quarterly results, reporting EPS of $2.69 versus the $2.30 estimate and revenue of $1.05 billion, with revenue up 25.7% year over year.
• Analysts remain mostly positive on FCFS, with several firms raising price targets and the consensus rating sitting at “Buy”; the stock also recently received a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share.

UBS Group AG reduced its stake in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS - Free Report) by 58.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,389 shares of the company's stock after selling 62,396 shares during the period. UBS Group AG owned approximately 0.10% of FirstCash worth $7,075,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of FirstCash by 2.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,096,956 shares of the company's stock valued at $649,040,000 after buying an additional 83,113 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in FirstCash by 4.0% during the third quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 742,610 shares of the company's stock worth $117,644,000 after purchasing an additional 28,704 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in FirstCash by 67.6% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in FirstCash by 0.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 539,634 shares of the company's stock worth $85,489,000 after purchasing an additional 1,771 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in FirstCash by 76.3% during the third 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 during the last quarter. 80.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

FirstCash Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:FCFS opened at $225.86 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $205.38 and a 200-day moving average of $181.10. The company has a market capitalization of $9.90 billion, a PE ratio of 28.30 and a beta of 0.52. 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 52-week low of $119.21 and a 52-week high of $235.97.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1 billion. FirstCash had a net margin of 9.15% and a return on equity of 18.68%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 25.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.07 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 11.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstCash Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at FirstCash

In other news, CFO R Douglas Orr sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.29, for a total transaction of $454,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 35,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,121,980.86. This represents a 5.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through 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 the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.40, for a total transaction of $326,100.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,564 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,427,013.60. This trade represents a 18.60% 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 17,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,972,130 over the last three months. 2.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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