Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Invests $66.93 Million in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. $FCFS

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new stake in shares of FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 422,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,925,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP owned about 0.96% of FirstCash at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. US Bancorp DE grew its position in FirstCash by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 8,923 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,414,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the period. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC lifted its holdings in FirstCash by 37.3% in the third quarter. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC now owns 12,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,017,000 after acquiring an additional 3,457 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp bought a new stake in shares of FirstCash during the 3rd quarter valued at about $798,000. King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its stake in shares of FirstCash by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 44,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,109,000 after purchasing an additional 12,844 shares during the period. Finally, L & S Advisors Inc bought a new position in shares of FirstCash in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,198,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of FirstCash in a research report on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of FirstCash in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Zacks Research downgraded FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $217.00 price target on FirstCash in a report on Friday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.50.

FirstCash Stock Up 0.4%

FCFS opened at $186.12 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $8.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.08 and a beta of 0.49. 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’s fifty day moving average is $170.87 and its 200 day moving average is $159.04. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $109.51 and a fifty-two week high of $188.75.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $2.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.54 by $0.10. FirstCash had a return on equity of 17.99% and a net margin of 9.02%.The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. FirstCash’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstCash Announces Dividend

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

FirstCash declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $150.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 2.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other FirstCash news, CFO R Douglas Orr sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total value of $701,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 111,289 shares in the company, valued at $19,516,751.93. This represents a 3.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard F. Hambleton sold 4,000 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.12, for a total transaction of $740,480.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 35,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,554,358.72. The trade was a 10.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 30,500 shares of company stock valued at $5,438,945. Corporate insiders own 2.93% of the company’s stock.

FirstCash Profile

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.