Midway Capital Research & Management Makes New Investment in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. $FCFS

Midway Capital Research & Management bought a new position in shares of FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 13,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,220,000. FirstCash comprises approximately 2.2% of Midway Capital Research & Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FCFS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 117,788 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in FirstCash by 70,840.3% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 43,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,010,000 after acquiring an additional 43,921 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in FirstCash by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,096,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $649,040,000 after acquiring an additional 83,113 shares in the last quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of FirstCash during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,857,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of FirstCash by 76.3% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 534,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,687,000 after acquiring an additional 231,379 shares during the period. 80.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on FCFS shares. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of FirstCash from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, May 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on FirstCash from $242.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings lowered FirstCash from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded FirstCash from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $198.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Paula K. Garrett sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $1,427,013.60. This represents a 18.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard F. Hambleton sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.41, for a total transaction of $679,230.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 32,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,337,042.46. This trade represents a 8.47% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 27,500 shares of company stock valued at $6,243,104. 2.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

FirstCash Stock Performance

Shares of FCFS stock opened at $227.05 on Friday. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $119.21 and a 12-month high of $235.97. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $219.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $191.46. 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 company has a market cap of $9.95 billion, a PE ratio of 28.45 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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $1 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.07 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 25.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 11.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstCash Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. FirstCash’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.05%.

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.