FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) Receives Average Recommendation of "Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• FirstCash Holdings has a consensus analyst rating of “Buy” from six covering firms, with an average 1-year price target of $198.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $2.69 versus estimates of $2.30 and revenue of $1.05 billion, while revenue rose 25.7% year over year.
• Despite the positive outlook, top executives sold shares in recent insider transactions, while institutional investors continue to hold a large majority of the stock at 80.3%.

FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Buy" from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $198.00.

FCFS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded FirstCash from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on FirstCash from $242.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings downgraded FirstCash from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Zacks Research upgraded FirstCash from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on FirstCash from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th.

FirstCash Stock Up 1.3%

FirstCash stock opened at $225.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 4.77 and a quick ratio of 3.42. FirstCash has a 1-year low of $119.21 and a 1-year high of $235.97. The company has a market cap of $9.88 billion, a PE ratio of 28.25 and a beta of 0.52. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $213.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $186.70.

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

FirstCash Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO R Douglas Orr sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.29, for a total value of $454,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 35,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,121,980.86. The trade was a 5.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Thomas Brent Stuart sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.49, for a total value of $2,284,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 140,846 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,181,902.54. This trade represents a 6.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,665 shares of company stock valued at $4,703,656. Company insiders own 2.86% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstCash

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCFS. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in FirstCash during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its stake in FirstCash by 127.8% during the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 180 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in FirstCash during the first quarter worth about $29,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in FirstCash by 490.9% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 195 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Community Bank N.A. acquired a new stake in FirstCash during the third quarter worth about $32,000. 80.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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