FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) Downgraded to Buy Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Sunday.

FCFS has been the topic of several other reports. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $217.00 target price on FirstCash in a report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of FirstCash in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research lowered FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of FirstCash in a research report on Friday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.40.

FirstCash Price Performance

Shares of FCFS opened at $181.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a current ratio of 4.55. The firm has a market cap of $8.00 billion, a PE ratio of 24.51 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $167.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $156.41. FirstCash has a twelve month low of $109.51 and a twelve month high of $188.75.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $2.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.54 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. FirstCash had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 17.99%. FirstCash’s quarterly revenue was up 19.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that FirstCash will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstCash Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. FirstCash’s payout ratio is 22.64%.

FirstCash declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 2.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at FirstCash

In other news, CEO Rick L. Wessel sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.39, for a total transaction of $3,127,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 866,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $135,587,314.98. The trade was a 2.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO R Douglas Orr sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.99, for a total transaction of $612,465.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 37,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,603,072.66. The trade was a 8.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 35,000 shares of company stock valued at $5,680,305 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 14.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of FirstCash

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FCFS. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of FirstCash in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in FirstCash in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its stake in shares of FirstCash by 127.8% in the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 490.9% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Finally, Community Bank N.A. bought a new position in shares of FirstCash during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.30% of the company’s stock.

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.