FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on FCFS. Weiss Ratings downgraded FirstCash from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a report on Monday. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of FirstCash from $242.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of FirstCash from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of FirstCash from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, February 15th. Two equities research analysts have 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 company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $198.00.

FirstCash Trading Up 1.2%

FCFS opened at $218.22 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $9.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.35 and a beta of 0.47. FirstCash has a 52 week low of $119.21 and a 52 week high of $227.26. The business's 50 day moving average is $197.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $175.22. The company has a quick ratio of 3.42, a current ratio of 4.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. FirstCash had a return on equity of 18.68% and a net margin of 9.15%.The firm's revenue was up 25.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that FirstCash will post 11.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Thomas Brent Stuart sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.53, for a total transaction of $1,825,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 150,846 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,533,920.38. This represents a 6.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO R Douglas Orr sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total value of $701,480.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 111,289 shares in the company, valued at $19,516,751.93. This represents a 3.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 26,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,783,985 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.93% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC boosted its position in FirstCash by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC now owns 12,783 shares of the company's stock worth $2,037,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in FirstCash by 29.6% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 245 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming boosted its position in FirstCash by 4.3% during the third quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,765 shares of the company's stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC boosted its position in FirstCash by 4.9% during the third quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 1,632 shares of the company's stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ascent Group LLC boosted its position in FirstCash by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 1,423 shares of the company's stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.30% of the company's stock.

FirstCash Company Profile

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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