FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) Sees Large Volume Increase - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• FirstCash Holdings, Inc. experienced a 6% increase in trading volume on Friday, with 316,681 shares traded, while the stock price rose to $157.24 from a previous close of $154.68.
• The company announced a dividend increase to $0.42 per share, up from $0.38, reflecting a 1.1% yield and a payout ratio of 25.81%.
• In recent analyst activity, FirstCash was rated with an average consensus of "Buy" and a target price of $143.00, indicating positive market sentiment despite some recent downgrades.

FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS - Get Free Report) shares saw strong trading volume on Friday . 316,681 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 6% from the previous session's volume of 299,954 shares.The stock last traded at $157.24 and had previously closed at $154.68.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on FCFS shares. Capital One Financial set a $160.00 target price on FirstCash in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered FirstCash from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. 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, Loop Capital lowered FirstCash from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $145.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, September 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $143.00.

FirstCash Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $140.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $131.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 3.12 and a current ratio of 4.21. The company has a market cap of $6.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.59 and a beta of 0.70.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. FirstCash had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 8.61%.The business had revenue of $830.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $820.42 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.37 EPS. FirstCash's quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

FirstCash Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $0.42 dividend. This is an increase from FirstCash's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. FirstCash's payout ratio is 25.81%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director James H. Graves sold 6,000 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,132,237.76. This trade represents a 27.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO R Douglas Orr sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.40, for a total value of $366,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 41,734 shares in the company, valued at $6,109,857.60. This represents a 5.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 111,500 shares of company stock valued at $15,493,610. Company insiders own 2.93% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of FirstCash

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of FirstCash by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 132,236 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,911,000 after purchasing an additional 1,629 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of FirstCash by 8.4% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,429 shares of the company's stock valued at $413,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FirstCash in the first quarter valued at about $1,524,000. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FirstCash in the first quarter valued at about $283,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in shares of FirstCash by 18.2% in the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 11,522 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,386,000 after acquiring an additional 1,771 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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