Isthmus Partners LLC Acquires Shares of FirstCash Holdings, Inc.

Isthmus Partners LLC has taken a new position in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS - Free Report) during the third quarter, based on its latest filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The investment firm acquired 5,059 shares of FirstCash, amounting to approximately $581,000 in value.

Alongside Isthmus Partners, various other institutional investors and hedge funds have recently adjusted their holdings in FirstCash. For instance, Bridgewater Associates LP has increased its stake in the company by 24.5% during the same period, bringing its total shares owned to 16,791, which are valued at about $1,928,000 after buying an additional 3,302 shares. Additionally, Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP invested approximately $3,707,000 to purchase new shares of FirstCash during the third quarter. FMR LLC also increased its ownership by 18.3%, now holding 6,712,779 shares valued at an impressive $770,627,000 following an acquisition of 1,037,601 shares. Mirabella Financial Services LLP entered the scene with a new stake worth around $2,268,000. Algert Global LLC further expanded its position by 21.8%, obtaining an additional 2,230 shares to now own a total of 12,450 shares valued at $1,429,000. Collectively, around 80.30% of FirstCash's stock is held by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Recent Analyst Ratings

In terms of market analysis, several equity research analysts have recently provided reports on FirstCash shares. A notable mention is Stephens, which began its coverage of FirstCash with an "overweight" rating and set a target price of $137.00. Another firm, TD Cowen, lowered their price objective from $134.00 to $130.00 while maintaining a "buy" rating in their research published on October 28.

Stock Performance

As of Friday, FirstCash shares traded at $108.86. The company has shown a solid current ratio of 4.31 and a quick ratio of 3.23. Its debt-to-equity ratio stands at 0.87, contributing to its market capitalization of $4.87 billion. FirstCash also boasts a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.16 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has experienced a 12-month low of $101.62 and a high of $133.64, with a 50-day moving average of $109.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $111.92.

On October 24, FirstCash announced its financial performance for the recent quarter, reporting an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.67, exceeding the consensus estimate of $1.62. The revenue reached $837.30 million for the quarter, though it slightly missed the expectation of $843.94 million. Furthermore, FirstCash recorded a return on equity of 14.97% and a net margin of 7.29%, with revenue growth of 6.5% year-over-year. For the current fiscal year, analysts predict that FirstCash is likely to achieve an EPS of 6.61.

Dividend Announcement

FirstCash has also declared a quarterly dividend, which was distributed on November 27. Shareholders of record as of November 15 received a dividend of $0.38 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date for this distribution was also November 15, and FirstCash's payout ratio is reported to be 28.15%.

Insider Activity

In insider trading news, CFO R. Douglas Orr sold 2,000 shares on November 5, fetching an average price of $105.68, totaling $211,360. Following this transaction, Orr's remaining shares stand at 88,715, valued at about $9,375,401. Moreover, Director Douglas Richard Rippel sold 3,374 shares at an average price of $119.94 on September 9, leading to a total value of around $404,677. These actions represent minor decreases in their respective ownership percentages. Over the past 90 days, corporate insiders have sold 5,974 shares worth approximately $688,080, with insiders collectively holding 14.77% of the total stock.

Company Overview

FirstCash Holdings, Inc., along with its subsidiaries, runs retail pawn stores across the United States, Mexico, and various other regions in Latin America. The business is divided into three primary segments: U.S. Pawn, Latin America Pawn, and Retail POS Payment Solutions. The stores primarily provide loans secured by collateral in the form of personal items, including jewelry, electronics, tools, appliances, sporting goods, and musical instruments. Additionally, they sell merchandise acquired through forfeited pawn loans and direct customer purchases.

investment, shares, acquisition, dividend