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) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,490,000 shares, a decline of 27.7% from the July 31st total of 2,060,000 shares. Approximately 3.9% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 404,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days. Based on an average trading volume of 404,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days. Approximately 3.9% of the company's shares are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aaron's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 6th. BTIG Research cut shares of Aaron's from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $24.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, July 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Aaron's presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $41.00.

Aaron's Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of PRG traded down $0.87 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $35.48. The stock had a trading volume of 435,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 294,074. 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $32.56 and a 200 day moving average of $29.39. The company has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.01 and a beta of 1.77.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.23. Aaron's had a net margin of 8.53% and a return on equity of 22.54%. The business had revenue of $604.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $586.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. 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, sell-side analysts expect that Aaron's will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aaron's Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Aaron's's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.28%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aaron's

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Aaron's in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Aaron's by 785.6% during the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,045 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 927 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aaron's by 66.2% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,122 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Aaron's by 157.6% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,391 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 851 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WealthCollab LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aaron's by 61.9% during the 2nd quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 2,092 shares of the company's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. 97.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.