Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Purchases New Holdings in Aaron's Holdings Company, Inc. (NYSE:PRG)

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Aaron's Holdings Company, purchasing 8,096 shares valued at approximately $215,000 in the first quarter.
• Aaron's Holdings reported earnings of $1.02 EPS for the latest quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate by $0.23, with revenue reaching $604.66 million.
• Analysts have set mixed ratings for Aaron's stock, with price targets ranging from $24.00 to $45.00, leading to an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target price of $41.00.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Aaron's Holdings Company, Inc. (NYSE:PRG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 8,096 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Aaron's by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 23,201 shares of the company's stock valued at $980,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aaron's by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 19,719 shares of the company's stock valued at $833,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank increased its stake in Aaron's by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 39,029 shares of the company's stock worth $1,649,000 after buying an additional 473 shares during the period. State of Wyoming increased its stake in Aaron's by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 5,694 shares of the company's stock worth $241,000 after buying an additional 560 shares during the period. Finally, Diversified Trust Co lifted its holdings in Aaron's by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 8,647 shares of the company's stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 583 shares in the last quarter. 97.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on PRG. KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of Aaron's from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered Aaron's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. 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 report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $41.00.

Aaron's Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of PRG stock traded up $0.21 on Friday, reaching $31.57. 83,621 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 499,820. Aaron's Holdings Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.50 and a twelve month high of $50.28. The company has a current ratio of 5.71, a quick ratio of 2.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.24 and a beta of 1.75. The business's 50 day moving average price is $29.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.43.

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. The business 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. As a group, sell-side 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Aaron's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Brian Garner purchased 3,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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. The trade was a 2.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven A. Michaels acquired 14,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $29.03 per share, with a total value of $406,420.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 559,641 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,246,378.23. This represents a 2.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 3.21% 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.