Short Interest in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) Expands By 7.4%

FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 606,800 shares, a growth of 7.4% from the January 15th total of 564,800 shares. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 232,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days.

FirstCash Price Performance

NASDAQ:FCFS traded up $0.03 on Tuesday, reaching $117.28. The stock had a trading volume of 191,050 shares, compared to its average volume of 232,563. The company has a market capitalization of $5.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.47 and a beta of 0.67. FirstCash has a 1-year low of $100.24 and a 1-year high of $133.64. The company has a quick ratio of 3.15, a current ratio of 4.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $109.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $111.13.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. FirstCash had a net margin of 7.64% and a return on equity of 14.99%. Research analysts forecast that FirstCash will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

FirstCash Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. FirstCash’s payout ratio is 26.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Douglas Richard Rippel sold 300,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.43, for a total transaction of $34,029,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,431,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $502,706,900.67. The trade was a 6.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO R Douglas Orr sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.35, for a total transaction of $226,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 100,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,399,269.45. The trade was a 1.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 14.77% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstCash

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of FCFS. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of FirstCash during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp lifted its position in shares of FirstCash by 38.8% during the fourth quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 454 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of FirstCash by 986.5% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 565 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of FirstCash by 157.5% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 569 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of FirstCash during the fourth quarter worth approximately $74,000. 80.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens started coverage on shares of FirstCash in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $137.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of FirstCash from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th.

FirstCash Company Profile

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.