FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) Short Interest Up 47.1% in March

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 47.1% in March to 801,793 shares (about 2.1% of the stock), leaving a short-interest ratio of roughly 2.5 days based on average daily volume.
• Insider selling accelerated: COO Thomas Brent Stuart sold 10,000 shares and another insider sold 4,000, part of 26,500 shares (~$4.78M) sold by insiders over the past 90 days, with corporate insiders now owning 2.93% of the company.
• FirstCash beat Q4 estimates (EPS $2.64 vs. $2.54; revenue up 19.8%) and faces mixed analyst views — Canaccord raised its price target to $240 while the consensus price target is $183.25 and the average rating is "Moderate Buy."

FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 801,793 shares, an increase of 47.1% from the February 26th total of 544,966 shares. Approximately 2.1% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 316,777 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at FirstCash

In other news, COO Thomas Brent Stuart sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief operating officer directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard F. Hambleton sold 4,000 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.12, for a total value of $740,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 35,406 shares in the company, valued at $6,554,358.72. This trade represents a 10.15% 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 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.93% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FirstCash in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its holdings in FirstCash by 127.8% in the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 180 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in FirstCash by 490.9% in the 4th 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 period. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new stake in FirstCash in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, High Point Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in FirstCash in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 80.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on FCFS. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on FirstCash from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Zacks Research cut shares of FirstCash from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of FirstCash in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of FirstCash from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, February 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, FirstCash has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $183.25.

FirstCash Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of FCFS traded down $1.12 on Friday, hitting $190.88. 347,161 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 338,865. FirstCash has a 1 year low of $116.66 and a 1 year high of $199.60. The stock's 50 day moving average is $183.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $166.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.73 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 3.36, a current ratio of 4.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

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

FirstCash Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 18th. FirstCash's dividend payout ratio is 22.64%.

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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