FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) Sets New 52-Week High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Shares hit a new 52-week high (intraday $230.72) after FirstCash reported a strong quarter—EPS $2.69 vs. $2.30 estimate and revenue $1.05B (up 25.7% YoY)—and several analysts raised price targets or upgraded ratings (e.g., Canaccord $252, TD Cowen $235; consensus rating: Buy, target $198).
• FirstCash has a $9.85B market cap, healthy liquidity (quick ratio 3.42) and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.42 (annualized $1.68, 0.7% yield), while insiders sold roughly 18,500 shares (~$3.44M) in the last 90 days and institutional ownership is high at 80.3%.

FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $230.72 and last traded at $224.7950, with a volume of 13926 shares. The stock had previously closed at $226.38.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on FCFS shares. Weiss Ratings lowered FirstCash from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on FirstCash from $242.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on FirstCash from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded FirstCash from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded FirstCash from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $198.00.

FirstCash Trading Down 0.8%

The firm has a market capitalization of $9.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.19 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a 50-day moving average of $198.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $176.42. 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 earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.39. FirstCash had a return on equity of 18.68% and a net margin of 9.15%.The business had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.07 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 25.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 11.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstCash Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. FirstCash's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.05%.

Insider Transactions at FirstCash

In related news, Director Paula K. Garrett sold 1,500 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.40, for a total transaction of $326,100.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,564 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,427,013.60. This trade represents a 18.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO R Douglas Orr sold 2,000 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.99, for a total value of $365,980.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 36,734 shares in the company, valued at $6,721,954.66. The trade was a 5.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 18,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,440,840 in the last ninety days. 2.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstCash

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCFS. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in shares of FirstCash in the 3rd quarter worth about $66,925,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 133.8% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 562,104 shares of the company's stock worth $89,588,000 after purchasing an additional 321,663 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 36.4% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,169,281 shares of the company's stock worth $186,361,000 after purchasing an additional 312,132 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 67.6% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 623,059 shares of the company's stock worth $97,503,000 after purchasing an additional 251,305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 76.3% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 534,571 shares of the company's stock worth $84,687,000 after purchasing an additional 231,379 shares during the last quarter. 80.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About FirstCash

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.