Aaron's Holdings Company, Inc. (NYSE:PRG) Short Interest Down 27.7% in August

Key Points

• Aaron's Holdings Company, Inc. experienced a significant 27.7% decrease in short interest, dropping to 1,490,000 shares by August 15th, which is about 3.9% of the total shares sold short.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $1.02, exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.79, alongside a revenue of $604.66 million for the quarter, up 2.1% year-over-year.
• Aaron's announced a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.5% and a payout ratio of 10.28%.

Aaron's Holdings Company, Inc. (NYSE:PRG - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decline in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,490,000 shares, adeclineof27.7% from the July 31st total of 2,060,000 shares. Approximately3.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 404,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.7 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 404,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.7 days. Approximately3.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Aaron's Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of PRG traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $35.48. The company had a trading volume of 271,800 shares, compared to its average volume of 310,515. The firm has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.01 and a beta of 1.77. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $32.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.20. The company has a quick ratio of 2.82, a current ratio of 5.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Aaron's has a 52-week low of $23.50 and a 52-week high of $50.28.

Aaron's (NYSE:PRG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $604.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $586.25 million. Aaron's had a return on equity of 22.54% and a net margin of 8.53%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.92 earnings per share. Aaron's has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 0.700-0.750 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 3.200-3.350 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Aaron's will post 3.45 EPS for the current year.

Aaron's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th were paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Aaron's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BTIG Research downgraded Aaron's from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $24.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Aaron's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aaron's has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $41.00.

Institutional Trading of Aaron's

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Aaron's by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 517,984 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,890,000 after acquiring an additional 33,991 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank raised its holdings in shares of Aaron's by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 39,029 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,649,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new position in shares of Aaron's during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,577,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Aaron's by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 144,466 shares of the company's stock worth $6,105,000 after buying an additional 23,536 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Aaron's by 155.3% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 38,130 shares of the company's stock worth $1,611,000 after buying an additional 23,197 shares during the period. 97.92% of the stock is owned by 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.

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