FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) Sets New 52-Week High - What's Next?

Key Points

• FirstCash hit a new 52-week high of $202.46 (last $201.36), trading above its 50- and 200-day moving averages even though analysts' average target is $183.25 and the consensus rating is a "Moderate Buy".
• The company posted a quarterly beat with EPS $2.64 vs. $2.54 and revenue of $1.06 billion (up 19.8% YoY); the stock trades at a P/E of 27.08 with a market cap of about $8.85 billion.
• Insiders sold 26,500 shares (≈$4.78M) over the last three months and now own 2.93% of the stock, while institutional investors hold 80.3%; FirstCash also pays a $0.42 quarterly dividend (0.8% yield).

FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $202.46 and last traded at $201.36, with a volume of 93183 shares. The stock had previously closed at $198.90.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on FCFS. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of FirstCash in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research cut shares of FirstCash from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of FirstCash from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of FirstCash from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, February 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $183.25.

FirstCash Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 4.55 and a quick ratio of 3.36. The company's 50 day moving average price is $188.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.08 and a beta of 0.47.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $2.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.54 by $0.10. FirstCash had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 17.99%. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. FirstCash's revenue was up 19.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstCash Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 18th. FirstCash's dividend payout ratio is 22.64%.

Insider Activity

In other FirstCash news, COO Thomas Brent Stuart sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.53, for a total value of $1,825,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 150,846 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,533,920.38. This trade represents a 6.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard F. Hambleton sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.12, for a total transaction of $740,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 35,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,554,358.72. The trade was a 10.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 26,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,783,985 over the last three months. 2.93% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstCash

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in FirstCash by 2.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,096,956 shares of the company's stock valued at $649,040,000 after acquiring an additional 83,113 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in FirstCash by 36.4% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,169,281 shares of the company's stock valued at $186,361,000 after acquiring an additional 312,132 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in FirstCash by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,043,699 shares of the company's stock worth $166,367,000 after purchasing an additional 31,550 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in FirstCash by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,009,170 shares of the company's stock worth $160,850,000 after purchasing an additional 5,626 shares during the period. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC raised its holdings in FirstCash by 1.0% in the third quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 857,510 shares of the company's stock worth $135,847,000 after purchasing an additional 8,610 shares during the period. 80.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.