Aaron's Holdings Company, Inc. (NYSE:PRG) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Aaron's Holdings Company, Inc. (NYSE:PRG) has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with a target price forecast of $41.00.
• The company reported earnings per share of $1.02 for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.79, along with a revenue of $604.66 million.
• Aaron's has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, which translates to an annualized dividend yield of 1.7% and a payout ratio of 10.28%.

Shares of Aaron's Holdings Company, Inc. (NYSE:PRG - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seven analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $41.00.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PRG. BTIG Research cut Aaron's from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $24.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Aaron's from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Aaron's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of Aaron's from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th.

Aaron's Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of PRG stock traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $31.34. 514,094 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 475,623. The business's fifty day moving average is $29.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.19 and a beta of 1.75. Aaron's has a 12-month low of $23.50 and a 12-month high of $50.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 5.71 and a quick ratio of 2.82.

Aaron's (NYSE:PRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $604.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $586.25 million. Aaron's had a net margin of 8.53% and a return on equity of 22.54%. The company's revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Aaron's will post 3.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aaron's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Aaron's's payout ratio is currently 10.28%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Steven A. Michaels purchased 14,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $29.03 per share, with a total value of $406,420.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 559,641 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,246,378.23. This trade represents a 2.57% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brian Garner purchased 3,500 shares of Aaron's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $28.93 per share, with a total value of $101,255.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 132,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,836,031.21. This trade represents a 2.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aaron's

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PRG. Breach Inlet Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Aaron's by 140.7% during the 1st quarter. Breach Inlet Capital Management LLC now owns 703,849 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,722,000 after acquiring an additional 411,459 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aaron's in the first quarter valued at approximately $10,770,000. Vulcan Value Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Aaron's by 84.3% during the 1st quarter. Vulcan Value Partners LLC now owns 681,746 shares of the company's stock worth $18,134,000 after purchasing an additional 311,917 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Aaron's by 62.7% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 673,405 shares of the company's stock worth $17,913,000 after purchasing an additional 259,630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in Aaron's in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,191,000. 97.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aaron's Company Profile

PROG Holdings, Inc NYSE: PRG is a financial technology holding company based in Salt Lake City, Utah with three business segments: Progressive Leasing, which offers lease-to-own transactions primarily to credit-challenged consumers through e-commerce and point-of-sale retail partners, via online, mobile, and in-store solutions; Vive Financial, which provides consumers who may not qualify for traditional prime lending with a variety of second-look, revolving credit products through private label and branded credit cards; and Four Technologies, which provides consumers of all credit backgrounds Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) options through four interest-free installments via its platform, Four.