Wall Street Zen Upgrades FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) to Buy

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on FCFS. Zacks Research cut shares of FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of FirstCash from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of FirstCash from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $255.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of FirstCash from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $249.00.

FirstCash Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FCFS opened at $217.45 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $9.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.82 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 3.51, a current ratio of 4.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $215.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $213.63. FirstCash has a twelve month low of $146.08 and a twelve month high of $238.93.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. FirstCash had a return on equity of 19.65% and a net margin of 9.42%.FirstCash’s revenue was up 29.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that FirstCash will post 11.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at FirstCash

In other news, CFO R. Orr sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.00, for a total value of $432,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,502,544. This represents a 5.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Thomas Stuart sold 5,348 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.63, for a total value of $1,147,841.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 135,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,081,935.74. This trade represents a 3.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 14,098 shares of company stock worth $3,051,281 over the last 90 days. 2.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstCash

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FCFS. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC increased its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC now owns 12,783 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,037,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of FirstCash by 29.6% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in FirstCash by 1.4% during the second quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $907,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its stake in shares of FirstCash by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 9,315 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,751,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its position in FirstCash by 113.2% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. 80.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

FirstCash Company Profile

FirstCash, Inc (NASDAQ: FCFS) is a specialty consumer-finance and retail company focused primarily on pawn-based lending. Through its pawn stores, the company provides short-term, non-recourse loans secured by personal property, allowing customers to obtain cash without traditional credit underwriting. Customers may repay the loan and reclaim the pledged item or forfeit the collateral under applicable regulations.

FirstCash also generates revenue by selling merchandise obtained through forfeited pawn loans and by purchasing used goods directly from consumers.