FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) Hits New 1-Year High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• FirstCash Holdings, Inc. shares reached a new 52-week high of $159.00, signaling strong market performance with a last trade at $158.93.
• Analysts are optimistic about FirstCash, with the majority giving it a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $154.40.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.42 per share, reflecting a 1.1% dividend yield, up from the previous $0.38 dividend.

FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $159.00 and last traded at $158.93, with a volume of 251837 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $153.64.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on FCFS shares. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of FirstCash in a report on Monday, August 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of FirstCash in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Capital One Financial set a $160.00 price target on shares of FirstCash in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of FirstCash in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised FirstCash from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, October 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $154.40.

FirstCash Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $146.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $134.82. The company has a market cap of $7.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.41 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 3.12 and a current ratio of 4.21.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.13. FirstCash had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 8.61%.The firm had revenue of $830.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $820.42 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

FirstCash Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. This is a boost from FirstCash's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. FirstCash's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.81%.

Insider Transactions at FirstCash

In other news, CFO R Douglas Orr sold 3,000 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.41, for a total transaction of $445,230.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 97,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,479,918.47. The trade was a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director James H. Graves sold 6,000 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total value 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 111,500 shares of company stock worth $15,493,610. Company insiders own 14.77% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstCash

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in FirstCash in the third quarter valued at $869,000. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of FirstCash in the 3rd quarter valued at about $206,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of FirstCash in the 3rd quarter valued at about $115,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of FirstCash by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,499 shares of the company's stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its stake in FirstCash by 4.7% in the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 36,396 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,919,000 after buying an additional 1,635 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.30% of the company's stock.

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.

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