FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) Cut to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• FirstCash has been downgraded from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, indicating a shift in analyst sentiment towards the stock.
• The company's stock is currently trading at $153.30, down 0.9%, with a market cap of $6.80 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.55.
• CEO Rick L. Wessel sold a significant amount of shares, totaling approximately $9.56 million, representing a 6.89% decrease in his ownership of the stock.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on FCFS. Capital One Financial set a $160.00 target price on shares of FirstCash in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised FirstCash to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of FirstCash in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Loop Capital downgraded FirstCash from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, September 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $143.00.

FirstCash Stock Down 0.9%

FCFS traded down $1.38 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $153.30. 626,223 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 244,774. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $140.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $131.84. The company has a market cap of $6.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.55 and a beta of 0.70. FirstCash has a fifty-two week low of $100.24 and a fifty-two week high of $158.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 4.21 and a quick ratio of 3.12.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $830.62 million for 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 revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.37 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that FirstCash will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Rick L. Wessel sold 69,024 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.49, for a total value of $9,559,133.76. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 932,958 shares of the company's stock, valued at $129,205,353.42. This trade 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 this link. Also, Director James H. Graves sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total value of $807,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 111,500 shares of company stock worth $15,493,610. Company insiders own 2.93% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of FirstCash

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its stake in shares of FirstCash by 4.7% in the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 36,396 shares of the company's stock worth $4,919,000 after acquiring an additional 1,635 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of FirstCash by 79.0% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,278 shares of the company's stock worth $173,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares during the period. Total Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in FirstCash during the second quarter worth $94,000. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC bought a new stake in FirstCash during the second quarter worth $765,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in FirstCash by 685.2% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 37,896 shares of the company's stock worth $5,121,000 after buying an additional 33,070 shares in the last quarter. 80.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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