Short Interest in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) Decreases By 11.7%

FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 817,400 shares, a decline of 11.7% from the November 15th total of 925,600 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 245,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.3 days. Approximately 2.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on FCFS shares. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of FirstCash from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Stephens initiated coverage on FirstCash in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $137.00 price target for the company.

FirstCash Price Performance

Shares of FCFS traded down $2.30 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $106.30. 265,522 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 246,955. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $108.33 and a 200-day moving average of $111.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 4.31 and a quick ratio of 3.23. FirstCash has a one year low of $101.62 and a one year high of $133.64. The firm has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.69 and a beta of 0.65.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.05. FirstCash had a net margin of 7.29% and a return on equity of 14.97%. The business had revenue of $837.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $843.94 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.56 EPS. FirstCash’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that FirstCash will post 6.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstCash Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. FirstCash’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at FirstCash

In other news, CFO R Douglas Orr sold 2,000 shares of FirstCash stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.68, for a total value of $211,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 88,715 shares in the company, valued at $9,375,401.20. This trade represents a 2.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 14.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstCash

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCFS. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in FirstCash during the second quarter valued at approximately $54,000. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of FirstCash by 157.5% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 28.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 900 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its position in FirstCash by 511.1% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 920 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in FirstCash in the third quarter valued at $133,000. Institutional investors own 80.30% of the company’s stock.

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.