FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) COO Thomas Brent Stuart Sells 10,000 Shares

FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) COO Thomas Brent Stuart sold 10,000 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.97, for a total value of $1,599,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 127,724 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,432,008.28. This trade represents a 7.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

FirstCash Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ FCFS traded up $1.02 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $156.59. 212,520 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 303,661. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $154.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $141.01. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $100.24 and a 12 month high of $166.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.05 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 4.21, a quick ratio of 3.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.35. FirstCash had a net margin of 8.61% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The company had revenue of $904.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $845.28 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.67 earnings per share. FirstCash’s quarterly revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstCash announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to repurchase $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 2.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

FirstCash Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. FirstCash’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on FCFS shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded FirstCash from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Monday. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of FirstCash in a research note on Friday, October 31st. TD Cowen upped their price objective on FirstCash from $181.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded FirstCash from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of FirstCash from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $167.00.

Institutional Trading of FirstCash

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FCFS. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in FirstCash in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of FirstCash in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its position in shares of FirstCash by 127.8% in the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 180 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A. bought a new position in shares of FirstCash during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in FirstCash by 70.5% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. 80.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.