FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) Short Interest Up 21.2% in April

Key Points

• Short interest rose 21.2% in April, totaling 1,095,347 shares (about 2.6% of shares) and a short-interest ratio of roughly 3.0 days based on average daily volume.
• Q1 results beat estimates: FirstCash reported $2.69 EPS vs. $2.30 expected and $1.05B revenue (+25.7% YoY); analysts maintain a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $198.
• Insiders have been selling while institutions added: insiders sold 26,500 shares (~$4.78M) in the last 90 days (insiders own 2.93%), even as institutional ownership stands at 80.3% with notable increases by Goldman and Jane Street; the company also declared a $0.42 quarterly dividend (0.8% yield).

FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,095,347 shares, a growth of 21.2% from the March 31st total of 903,847 shares. Currently, 2.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 362,867 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FCFS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of FirstCash from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of FirstCash from $242.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of FirstCash from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of FirstCash from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of FirstCash from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, February 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $198.00.

Insider Activity at FirstCash

In related news, CFO R Douglas Orr sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total value of $701,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 111,289 shares in the company, valued at $19,516,751.93. This represents a 3.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard F. Hambleton sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.12, for a total transaction of $740,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 35,406 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,554,358.72. This represents a 10.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 26,500 shares of company stock worth $4,783,985 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.93% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstCash

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FCFS. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 4.7% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 22,946 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,761,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 9.7% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 389,509 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,866,000 after acquiring an additional 34,364 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in shares of FirstCash by 237.2% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 62,057 shares of the company's stock worth $7,467,000 after purchasing an additional 43,653 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 4.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 14,187 shares of the company's stock worth $1,917,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 67.4% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 20,872 shares of the company's stock worth $2,821,000 after purchasing an additional 8,402 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.30% of the company's stock.

FirstCash Price Performance

FCFS stock opened at $215.67 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 4.77, a quick ratio of 3.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. FirstCash has a one year low of $119.21 and a one year high of $227.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.45 billion, a PE ratio of 27.03 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $196.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $174.92.

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

FirstCash Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. FirstCash's payout ratio is currently 21.05%.

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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