Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Holdings in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS - Free Report) by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 126,124 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,165 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.28% of FirstCash worth $14,479,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,712,779 shares of the company's stock worth $770,627,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037,601 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of FirstCash by 2.4% during the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,344,383 shares of the company's stock valued at $245,879,000 after buying an additional 55,919 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in FirstCash by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,386,726 shares of the company's stock worth $159,196,000 after buying an additional 28,415 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in FirstCash by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,057,049 shares of the company's stock worth $110,867,000 after buying an additional 15,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in FirstCash by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 631,303 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,211,000 after acquiring an additional 19,868 shares during the period. 80.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FirstCash Stock Performance

Shares of FirstCash stock traded down $0.35 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $103.10. 116,185 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 246,540. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $100.24 and a one year high of $133.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.09 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 3.23, a current ratio of 4.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $106.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $110.29.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $837.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $843.94 million. FirstCash had a net margin of 7.29% and a return on equity of 14.97%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.56 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 6.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstCash Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. FirstCash's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on FCFS shares. TD Cowen reduced their price target 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 began coverage on shares of FirstCash in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $137.00 target price on the stock.

Insider Activity at FirstCash

In other FirstCash news, CFO R Douglas Orr sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.68, for a total transaction of $211,360.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 88,715 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,375,401.20. This trade represents a 2.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 14.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.