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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Aaron's from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on Aaron's from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, BTIG Research cut Aaron's from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $24.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aaron's has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $41.86.

Aaron's Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 4.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $29.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.64.

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

Aaron's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 20th. Aaron's's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Aaron's

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PRG. Breach Inlet Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Aaron's by 140.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aaron's in the first quarter valued at $10,770,000. Vulcan Value Partners LLC lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 311,917 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 259,630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Aaron's in the second quarter valued at $6,191,000. 97.92% of the stock is currently 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.