FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) Upgraded at Jefferies Financial Group

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group has upgraded FirstCash (NASDAQ: FCFS) to a "strong-buy" rating, signaling confidence in the company's financial outlook.
• FirstCash reported earnings of $1.79 per share, exceeding expectations, and maintained a solid market cap of $6.13 billion.
• Institutional investors currently own approximately 80.30% of FirstCash's shares, demonstrating strong institutional interest in the company.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, August 18th,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Capital One Financial set a $160.00 price objective on FirstCash in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of FirstCash in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered FirstCash from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, FirstCash currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $142.33.

FirstCash Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of FirstCash stock traded up $2.1150 during trading on Monday, hitting $146.4950. 111,712 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 305,833. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.50 and a beta of 0.68. FirstCash has a 1-year low of $100.24 and a 1-year high of $147.38. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $133.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $126.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 4.21 and a quick ratio of 3.12.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $830.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $820.42 million. FirstCash had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 8.61%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that FirstCash will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at FirstCash

In related news, insider Howard F. Hambleton sold 3,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.93, for a total value of $510,627.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 32,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,252,737.33. This represents a 10.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Rick L. Wessel sold 30,976 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.33, for a total value of $4,315,886.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 901,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $125,673,152.06. This trade represents a 3.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 109,900 shares of company stock worth $15,193,007. Company insiders own 14.77% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstCash

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in FirstCash in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in FirstCash by 808.0% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 227 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in FirstCash by 181.6% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 290 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional bought a new position in FirstCash in the first quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its position in shares of FirstCash by 169.9% during the second quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 448 shares of the company's stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.30% of the company's stock.

About FirstCash

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.