UPDATE 1-First Cash keeps 2009 view, buys 2 pawnshops

* Keeps 2009 EPS view of $1.36/shr-$1.38/shr * Buys assets of two pawnshops for $1.3 mln

June 17 (Reuters) - First Cash Financial Services Inc (FCFS.O), a pawn and payday lender, reaffirmed its 2009 profit outlook, and said it bought the assets of two Texas pawnshops for $1.3 million to complement its businesses in the area.

The company, which paid the purchase price in cash, said it acquired the pawn loans receivable, inventory and all other operating assets at the two shops.

U.S. payday lenders, who make small, short-term loans against the borrower's next pay check, are investing more in their pawn operations as stricter regulations and rising unemployment make their primary business less attractive.

Compared with payday loans that carry sky-high interest rates -- sometimes even more than 300 percent -- pawn loans are easy on the pocket and do not have to be repaid if the borrower decides to forfeit the collateral.

First Cash also reaffirmed its 2009 profit outlook of $1.36 to $1.38 a share. Analysts were looking for a full-year profit of $1.37 a share, excluding items, according to Reuters Estimates.

Shares of the company, which said it was on track to open at least 55 to 60 new pawn stores in Mexico this year, closed at $15.49 Tuesday on Nasdaq. (Reporting by Anurag Kotoky in Bangalore; Editing by Aradhana Aravindan)