Short Interest in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) Grows By 50.6%

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) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 607,400 shares, agrowthof50.6% from the July 15th total of 403,300 shares. Currently,1.6% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 309,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 309,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days. Currently,1.6% of the company's stock are sold short.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other FirstCash news, CEO Rick L. Wessel sold 69,024 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.49, for a total transaction of $9,559,133.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 932,958 shares of the company's stock, valued at $129,205,353.42. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director James H. Graves sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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. The trade was a 27.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 109,900 shares of company stock valued at $15,193,007 over the last three months. 14.77% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in FirstCash by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,338,671 shares of the company's stock worth $242,286,000 after acquiring an additional 52,409 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,043,531 shares of the company's stock valued at $108,107,000 after buying an additional 9,264 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 980,738 shares of the company's stock valued at $132,552,000 after buying an additional 11,534 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 888,834 shares of the company's stock valued at $106,945,000 after buying an additional 112,349 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in FirstCash by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 713,906 shares of the company's stock valued at $96,477,000 after acquiring an additional 65,308 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on FCFS. Capital One Financial set a $160.00 target price on shares of FirstCash in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of FirstCash in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised FirstCash to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded FirstCash from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, FirstCash presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $142.33.

FirstCash Price Performance

FCFS traded up $5.68 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $144.38. 509,774 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 379,095. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.18 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 3.12, a current ratio of 4.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. FirstCash has a one year low of $100.24 and a one year high of $144.63. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $133.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $126.18.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $830.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $820.42 million. FirstCash had a net margin of 8.61% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.37 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that FirstCash will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

FirstCash Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from FirstCash's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. FirstCash's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.81%.

About FirstCash

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.