FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.39 EPS

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.39, Zacks reports. FirstCash had a return on equity of 17.99% and a net margin of 9.02%.FirstCash’s quarterly revenue was up 25.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS.

FirstCash Trading Up 3.8%

Shares of FCFS traded up $7.85 on Thursday, hitting $213.48. 162,961 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 307,095. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.77 and a beta of 0.47. FirstCash has a 1 year low of $119.21 and a 1 year high of $227.26. The company has a quick ratio of 3.36, a current ratio of 4.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $193.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $172.76.

FirstCash Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. FirstCash’s payout ratio is presently 22.64%.

Insider Activity at FirstCash

In other FirstCash news, insider Howard F. Hambleton sold 4,000 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.12, for a total value of $740,480.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 35,406 shares in the company, valued at $6,554,358.72. This trade represents a 10.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO R Douglas Orr sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.99, for a total value of $365,980.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 36,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,721,954.66. The trade was a 5.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 26,500 shares of company stock worth $4,783,985. 2.93% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of FirstCash

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCFS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of FirstCash by 133.8% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 562,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,588,000 after buying an additional 321,663 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in FirstCash by 36.4% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,169,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,361,000 after buying an additional 312,132 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of FirstCash by 67.6% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 623,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,503,000 after acquiring an additional 251,305 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of FirstCash by 280.5% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 305,856 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,454,000 after acquiring an additional 225,466 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in FirstCash by 102.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 294,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,729,000 after purchasing an additional 149,407 shares during the last quarter. 80.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded FirstCash from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Zacks Research downgraded FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of FirstCash from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, February 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $183.25.

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.