FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume

Shares of FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS - Get Free Report) saw strong trading volume on Thursday . 244,281 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 20% from the previous session's volume of 203,490 shares.The stock last traded at $117.67 and had previously closed at $132.03.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen upgraded shares of FirstCash from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Stephens increased their price objective on FirstCash from $131.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd.

FirstCash Price Performance

The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $122.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $114.56. The firm has a market cap of $5.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.88 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 2.96 and a current ratio of 3.89.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.79 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $852.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $859.23 million. FirstCash had a return on equity of 14.42% and a net margin of 6.96%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.65 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 6.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstCash Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 13th. FirstCash's payout ratio is 29.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Douglas Richard Rippel sold 19,020 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.34, for a total transaction of $2,231,806.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,997,680 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $703,767,771.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other FirstCash news, Director Douglas Richard Rippel sold 19,020 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.34, for a total transaction of $2,231,806.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,997,680 shares in the company, valued at $703,767,771.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO R Douglas Orr sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.25, for a total transaction of $348,750.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 94,715 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,010,618.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 329,984 shares of company stock valued at $38,850,386. Company insiders own 18.08% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstCash

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its stake in FirstCash by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 8,915 shares of the company's stock worth $966,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in FirstCash by 16.2% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 985 shares of the company's stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in FirstCash by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 841 shares of the company's stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its holdings in FirstCash by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 46,326 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,021,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in FirstCash by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 10,600 shares of the company's stock worth $1,352,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.