FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) Stock Price Down 7.9% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• FirstCash shares fell sharply, dropping about 7.9% intraday to around $211, well below the previous close of $229.35. Trading volume was lighter than usual, with roughly 285,466 shares changing hands.
• Despite the stock pullback, analysts remain broadly positive. Recent reports included multiple buy/strong-buy ratings, and the consensus price target stands at $198.00.
• FirstCash posted strong recent results, beating quarterly EPS and revenue estimates with 25.7% revenue growth year over year. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, yielding about 0.8% annually.

FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 7.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $211.71 and last traded at $211.1930. Approximately 285,466 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 12% from the average daily volume of 324,229 shares. The stock had previously closed at $229.35.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FCFS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of FirstCash from $242.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of FirstCash from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of FirstCash from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of FirstCash from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of FirstCash from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, May 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $198.00.

FirstCash Stock Down 8.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 3.42 and a current ratio of 4.77. The company has a market capitalization of $9.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.32 and a beta of 0.52. The business's 50 day moving average is $214.95 and its 200 day moving average is $187.92.

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

FirstCash Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. FirstCash's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.05%.

Insider Activity at FirstCash

In other FirstCash news, COO Thomas Brent Stuart sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.49, for a total transaction of $2,284,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 140,846 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,181,902.54. This trade represents a 6.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Raul Ramos sold 6,835 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.23, for a total transaction of $1,539,447.05. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 20,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,594,692. This trade represents a 25.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 27,500 shares of company stock worth $6,243,104 in the last ninety days. 2.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 29.6% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 245 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Profund Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 4.9% in the third quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 1,632 shares of the company's stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 1,423 shares of the company's stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC boosted its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 1.0% in the third quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 8,703 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,379,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. 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.

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.