FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) shares reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $230.72 and last traded at $224.7950, with a volume of 13926 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $226.38.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded FirstCash from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on FirstCash from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on FirstCash from $242.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research raised FirstCash from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised FirstCash from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $198.00.

FirstCash Stock Down 0.8%

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $198.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.42. The company has a current ratio of 4.77, a quick ratio of 3.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.19 and a beta of 0.52.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.39. FirstCash had a return on equity of 18.68% and a net margin of 9.15%.The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.07 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 11.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstCash Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. FirstCash’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.05%.

Insider Transactions at FirstCash

In other FirstCash news, Director Paula K. Garrett sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.40, for a total transaction of $326,100.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,427,013.60. This represents a 18.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 36,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,721,954.66. This represents a 5.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 18,500 shares of company stock worth $3,440,840 in the last quarter. 2.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FCFS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of FirstCash by 96.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 240,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,091,000 after acquiring an additional 117,788 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of FirstCash by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 857,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,847,000 after acquiring an additional 8,610 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of FirstCash by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,096,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $649,040,000 after acquiring an additional 83,113 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of FirstCash by 76.3% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 534,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,687,000 after acquiring an additional 231,379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirabella Financial Services LLP bought a new stake in shares of FirstCash during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,463,000. 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.