FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume Following Strong Earnings

FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. 244,281 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 20% from the previous session’s volume of 203,490 shares.The stock last traded at $117.67 and had previously closed at $132.03.

The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $836.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $846.08 million. FirstCash had a return on equity of 14.73% and a net margin of 7.23%. The business’s revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share.

FirstCash Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. FirstCash’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stephens boosted their price target on FirstCash from $131.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. TD Cowen upgraded FirstCash from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $130.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other FirstCash news, Director Douglas Richard Rippel sold 21,852 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.90, for a total transaction of $2,620,054.80. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,502,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $659,781,043.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CFO R Douglas Orr sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.25, for a total transaction of $348,750.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 94,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,010,618.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Douglas Richard Rippel sold 21,852 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.90, for a total value of $2,620,054.80. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,502,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $659,781,043.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 329,984 shares of company stock worth $38,850,386. Company insiders own 18.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstCash

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Monument Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of FirstCash during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,135,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of FirstCash by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 426,752 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,837,000 after acquiring an additional 63,219 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of FirstCash by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,556,669 shares of the company’s stock worth $658,158,000 after acquiring an additional 145,821 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of FirstCash during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $297,000. Finally, Annex Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in FirstCash by 46.2% in the 3rd quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 55,304 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,551,000 after buying an additional 17,486 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.30% of the company’s stock.

FirstCash Trading Up 1.0 %

The company has a current ratio of 3.99, a quick ratio of 2.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The business has a 50 day moving average of $122.13 and a 200-day moving average of $114.65. The stock has a market cap of $5.22 billion, a PE ratio of 22.56 and a beta of 0.62.

About FirstCash

FirstCash Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates retail pawn stores in the United States, Mexico, and rest of Latin America. The company operates in three segments: U.S. Pawn, Latin America Pawn, and Retail POS Payment Solutions segments. Its pawn stores lend money on the collateral of pledged personal property, including jewelry, electronics, tools, appliances, sporting goods, and musical instruments; and retails merchandise acquired through collateral forfeitures on forfeited pawn loans and over-the-counter purchases of merchandise directly from customers.