Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Boosts Holdings in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its position in shares of FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) by 28.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 560,591 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 123,386 shares during the quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s holdings in FirstCash were worth $58,076,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in FirstCash during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $553,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in FirstCash during the third quarter worth $1,576,000. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP purchased a new position in FirstCash in the third quarter worth $3,707,000. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in FirstCash by 174.3% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 159,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,269,000 after acquiring an additional 101,130 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of FirstCash by 32.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 160,379 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,412,000 after purchasing an additional 39,077 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.30% of the company’s stock.

FirstCash Price Performance

FCFS stock opened at $113.20 on Friday. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $100.24 and a 1 year high of $133.64. The firm has a market cap of $5.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.76 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $107.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 3.15 and a current ratio of 4.14.

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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstCash Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. FirstCash’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO R Douglas Orr sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.35, for a total value of $226,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 100,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,399,269.45. This trade represents a 1.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 14.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.