Vulcan Value Partners LLC Acquires 311,917 Shares of Aaron's Holdings Company, Inc. (NYSE:PRG)

Key Points

• Vulcan Value Partners LLC has increased its holdings in Aaron's Holdings Company, Inc. by 84.3%, now owning 681,746 shares worth approximately $18.1 million.
• Aaron's reported $1.02 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a net margin of 8.53% and revenue of $604.66 million.
• Insider purchases include CEO Steven A. Michaels acquiring 14,000 shares at $29.03 each, increasing his stake in the company.

Vulcan Value Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Aaron's Holdings Company, Inc. (NYSE:PRG - Free Report) by 84.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 681,746 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 311,917 shares during the period. Vulcan Value Partners LLC owned approximately 1.69% of Aaron's worth $18,134,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PRG. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Aaron's by 2,008.0% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 178,550 shares of the company's stock worth $7,546,000 after purchasing an additional 170,080 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Aaron's in the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,093,000. FMR LLC raised its stake in Aaron's by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,564,441 shares of the company's stock worth $108,373,000 after buying an additional 134,123 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in Aaron's by 16.3% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 907,100 shares of the company's stock worth $24,129,000 after purchasing an additional 127,384 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantedge Capital Pte Ltd purchased a new position in Aaron's in the fourth quarter worth $4,982,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.92% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Aaron's

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

Aaron's Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:PRG traded up $0.36 during trading on Monday, reaching $30.86. The stock had a trading volume of 66,345 shares, compared to its average volume of 504,674. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $29.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.58. The company has a quick ratio of 2.82, a current ratio of 5.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.10 and a beta of 1.75. Aaron's Holdings Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.50 and a fifty-two week high of $50.28.

Aaron's (NYSE:PRG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.23. Aaron's had a net margin of 8.53% and a return on equity of 22.54%. The firm had revenue of $604.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $586.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share. Aaron's's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 20th. Aaron's's payout ratio is currently 10.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on PRG shares. BTIG Research downgraded 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Aaron's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Aaron's from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of 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, two have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aaron's presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $41.00.

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.