Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Reduces Stake in FirstCash Holdings, Inc.

The Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund has decreased its investment in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) by 28.2% during the third quarter of this year, as reported in the latest 13F filing with the SEC. After selling off 8,000 shares, the institutional investor now holds 20,400 shares valued at approximately $2,342,000 based on its latest filing.

In addition to this change, several other hedge funds have adjusted their stakes in FirstCash recently. For instance, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. initiated a new position valued around $54,000 during the second quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in FirstCash by 157.5% in the latest quarter, bringing its total to 569 shares worth roughly $65,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares. Furthermore, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake by 28.9%, now owning 900 shares valued at $103,000 following the purchase of 202 more shares in the last quarter.

Moreover, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake significantly by 220.3% in the first quarter and currently owns 977 shares valued at $124,000 after adding 672 shares. Quarry LP also raised its holdings in FirstCash by an impressive 511.1% in the second quarter, currently holding 1,100 shares valued at around $115,000. Collectively, these institutions and hedge funds own approximately 80.30% of FirstCash’s stock.

Changes in Analyst Ratings

Several analysts have recently revised their price targets on FirstCash shares. For example, TD Cowen lowered its target from $134.00 to $130.00 while maintaining a "buy" rating for the stock in a report published on October 28th. Additionally, on November 13th, Stephens commenced coverage on FirstCash, giving it an "overweight" rating along with a price target of $137.00.

Performance of FirstCash Stock

As of Friday, FCFS stock opened at $108.86. The company recorded a 52-week low of $101.62 and a high of $133.64. Its 50-day moving average stands at $109.79, while its 200-day moving average is at $111.89. FirstCash's market capitalization is approximately $4.87 billion, with a PE ratio of 20.16 and a beta of 0.64. The company also shows strong liquidity with a current ratio of 4.31 and a quick ratio of 3.23, alongside a manageable debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

On October 24th, FirstCash released its latest quarterly earnings report, posting an EPS of $1.67, which exceeded analysts' expectations of $1.62 by $0.05. The company achieved a net margin of 7.29% and a return on equity of 14.97%. For the quarter, FirstCash reported revenue totaling $837.30 million, which fell slightly short of the projected $843.94 million. This revenue marks a 6.5% increase compared to the same quarter the previous year. Analysts predict that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will have an EPS of 6.61 for the current fiscal year.

Dividends Declared by FirstCash

Recently, FirstCash announced a quarterly dividend payment that was made to shareholders on November 27th. Those recorded on Friday, November 15th, received a dividend of $0.38 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $1.52, which gives a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date was also listed as November 15th. It is important to note that FirstCash's dividend payout ratio stands at 28.15%.

Insider Trading Activity

In related news, FirstCash’s CFO, R Douglas Orr, sold 2,000 shares of the stock on November 5th at an average price of $105.68, totaling $211,360. This transaction reduced his ownership to 88,715 shares, valued at approximately $9,375,401. Another recent insider transaction involved Director Douglas Richard Rippel, who sold 3,374 shares at an average price of $119.94, amounting to around $404,677. Following this transaction, the director's remaining shares total 4,731,869, valued at about $567,540,367.56. In total, insiders offloaded 5,974 shares worth roughly $688,080 in the last quarter, which constitutes 14.77% of the company's stock owned by individuals within the organization.

Overview of FirstCash

FirstCash Holdings, Inc. operates retail pawn shops across the United States, Mexico, and other parts of Latin America. The company segments its operations into three main categories: U.S. Pawn, Latin America Pawn, and Retail POS Payment Solutions. FirstCash's pawn stores offer loans against personal property collaterals such as jewelry, electronics, tools, appliances, and more, while also retailing goods obtained from forfeited pawn loans and direct purchases from customers.

FirstCash, Investment, Shares