Aaron's (NYSE:PRG) Shares Down 3.8% - Here's Why

Shares of Aaron's Holdings Company, Inc. (NYSE:PRG - Get Free Report) fell 3.8% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $29.07 and last traded at $28.83. 30,651 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 94% from the average session volume of 475,617 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.97.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PRG. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Aaron's from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. BTIG Research downgraded Aaron's from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $24.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their target price on Aaron's from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $41.86.

Aaron's Trading Down 2.8%

The company has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of 5.97 and a beta of 1.76. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.69. The company has a current ratio of 4.98, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Aaron's (NYSE:PRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $684.09 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $678.23 million. Aaron's had a return on equity of 23.11% and a net margin of 8.38%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Aaron's Holdings Company, Inc. will post 3.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aaron's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th were issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. Aaron's's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.66%.

Insider Transactions at Aaron's

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aaron's

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Breach Inlet Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Aaron's by 140.7% during the first 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 during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Aaron's in the first quarter valued at $10,770,000. Vulcan Value Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aaron's by 84.3% in the first quarter. Vulcan Value Partners LLC now owns 681,746 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,134,000 after buying an additional 311,917 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aaron's by 62.7% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 673,405 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,913,000 after buying an additional 259,630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Aaron's in the second quarter valued at $6,191,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.92% of the company's stock.

About Aaron's

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.