FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) saw a significant growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,095,347 shares, a growth of 21.2% from the March 31st total of 903,847 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 362,867 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days. Currently, 2.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

FirstCash Stock Performance

Shares of FCFS stock opened at $219.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 3.42 and a current ratio of 4.77. FirstCash has a fifty-two week low of $119.21 and a fifty-two week high of $227.26. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $197.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $175.22. The company has a market capitalization of $9.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.56 and a beta of 0.52.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 25.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that FirstCash will post 11.3 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstCash Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. FirstCash’s payout ratio is presently 21.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FCFS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded FirstCash from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded FirstCash from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Zacks Research upgraded FirstCash from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on FirstCash from $242.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on FirstCash from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, FirstCash currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $198.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Thomas Brent Stuart sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.53, for a total value of $1,825,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 150,846 shares in the company, valued at $27,533,920.38. The trade was a 6.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard F. Hambleton sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.12, for a total value of $740,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 35,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,554,358.72. The trade was a 10.15% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 28,000 shares of company stock worth $5,110,085 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of FirstCash

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC increased its stake in shares of FirstCash by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC now owns 12,783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,037,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of FirstCash by 29.6% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. State of Wyoming increased its stake in shares of FirstCash by 4.3% during the third quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Profund Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of FirstCash by 4.9% during the third quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 1,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in shares of FirstCash by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 1,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.30% of the company’s stock.

FirstCash Company 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.