FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• FirstCash Holdings, Inc. experienced a 50.6% increase in short interest in July, with short interest totaling 607,400 shares as of July 31st.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, representing an annual yield of 1.2%, and an increase from the previous dividend of $0.38.
• Analysts have mixed views, with Cowen reiterating a "buy" rating, while Wall Street Zen downgraded their rating from "strong-buy" to "buy."

FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 607,400 shares, anincreaseof50.6% from the July 15th total of 403,300 shares. Approximately1.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 309,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 309,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days. Approximately1.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on FCFS. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of FirstCash in a report on Monday. Capital One Financial set a $160.00 price target on FirstCash in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded FirstCash from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th.

FirstCash Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of FCFS opened at $138.45 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.27 and a beta of 0.68. FirstCash has a twelve month low of $100.24 and a twelve month high of $141.56. The company has a quick ratio of 3.12, a current ratio of 4.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $132.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $125.39.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $830.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $820.42 million. FirstCash had a net margin of 8.61% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The company's quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that FirstCash will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

FirstCash Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from FirstCash's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. FirstCash's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.81%.

Insider Transactions at FirstCash

In other FirstCash news, insider Howard F. Hambleton sold 3,900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.93, for a total value of $510,627.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 32,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,252,737.33. This represents a 10.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director James H. Graves sold 6,000 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total transaction of $807,360.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 15,846 shares in the company, valued at $2,132,237.76. This trade represents a 27.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 14.77% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstCash

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FCFS. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of FirstCash during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in FirstCash by 808.0% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 227 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in FirstCash by 181.6% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 290 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. CX Institutional purchased a new position in FirstCash during the 1st quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its holdings in FirstCash by 169.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 448 shares of the company's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.30% of the company's stock.

FirstCash Company Profile

FirstCash Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates retail pawn stores in the United States, Mexico, and rest of Latin America. The company operates in three segments: U.S. Pawn, Latin America Pawn, and Retail POS Payment Solutions segments. Its pawn stores lend money on the collateral of pledged personal property, including jewelry, electronics, tools, appliances, sporting goods, and musical instruments; and retails merchandise acquired through collateral forfeitures on forfeited pawn loans and over-the-counter purchases of merchandise directly from customers.

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