FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

by · The Cerbat Gem

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS – Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of FirstCash from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Loop Capital raised FirstCash from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $255.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, August 10th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on FirstCash from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded FirstCash from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $249.00.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on FirstCash

FirstCash Stock Performance

Shares of FCFS opened at $225.62 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.89, a quick ratio of 3.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $9.79 billion, a PE ratio of 25.76 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $214.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $210.21. FirstCash has a 12-month low of $144.56 and a 12-month high of $238.93.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. FirstCash had a net margin of 9.42% and a return on equity of 19.65%. FirstCash’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that FirstCash will post 11.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other FirstCash news, COO Thomas Stuart sold 5,348 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.63, for a total transaction of $1,147,841.24. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 135,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,081,935.74. The trade was a 3.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO R. Orr sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.00, for a total value of $432,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,502,544. This trade represents a 5.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 14,098 shares of company stock worth $3,051,281 in the last ninety days. 2.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of FirstCash

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in FirstCash in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of FirstCash during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 490.9% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of FirstCash in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of FirstCash by 113.2% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. 80.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About FirstCash

(Get Free Report)

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.

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