Aaron's Holdings Company, Inc. (NYSE:PRG) Given Consensus Rating of "Buy" by Brokerages

Aaron's Holdings Company, Inc. (NYSE:PRG - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Buy" from the six research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $44.83.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Loop Capital decreased their price target 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 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Aaron's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $29.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th.

Aaron's Stock Down 0.7%

PRG traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $27.73. 241,967 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 477,688. The stock has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.70 and a beta of 1.79. Aaron's has a 1-year low of $23.50 and a 1-year high of $50.28. The stock's 50-day moving average is $27.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.63. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 4.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Aaron's (NYSE:PRG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $684.09 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $678.23 million. Aaron's had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 23.11%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Aaron's will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aaron's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. Aaron's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.66%.

Insider Transactions at Aaron's

In other Aaron's news, CEO Steven A. Michaels acquired 14,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $29.03 per share, for a total transaction of $406,420.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brian Garner acquired 3,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $28.93 per share, with a total value of $101,255.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 132,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,836,031.21. This trade represents a 2.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aaron's

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PRG. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Aaron's by 38.6% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,691 shares of the company's stock valued at $156,000 after buying an additional 1,027 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Aaron's by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 201,644 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,521,000 after acquiring an additional 2,015 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Aaron's by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 187,300 shares of the company's stock worth $7,915,000 after purchasing an additional 5,453 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in Aaron's by 36.8% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 779,716 shares of the company's stock worth $32,951,000 after acquiring an additional 209,805 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. increased its position in Aaron's by 80.1% in the 4th quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. now owns 17,006 shares of the company's stock valued at $719,000 after acquiring an additional 7,562 shares during the period. 97.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.