Aaron’s (NYSE:PRG) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Aaron’s Holdings Company, Inc. (NYSE:PRG)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $29.77, but opened at $30.78. Aaron’s shares last traded at $31.0660, with a volume of 180,540 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PRG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Aaron’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. BTIG Research raised shares of Aaron’s from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $31.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aaron’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Aaron’s from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, B. Riley initiated coverage on Aaron’s in a report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aaron’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.71.

Aaron’s Trading Down 0.7%

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.04. The company has a quick ratio of 2.65, a current ratio of 4.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 1.75.

Aaron’s (NYSE:PRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.17. Aaron’s had a net margin of 6.54% and a return on equity of 22.36%. The company had revenue of $595.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $586.11 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.77 earnings per share. Aaron’s’s revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Aaron’s has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.350-3.450 EPS and its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.550-0.650 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Aaron’s Holdings Company, Inc. will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Aaron’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 18th were given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 18th. Aaron’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.20%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aaron’s

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PRG. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Aaron’s by 503.6% in the 2nd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 109,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,217,000 after purchasing an additional 91,439 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Aaron’s by 3.5% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 438,379 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,661,000 after acquiring an additional 14,874 shares during the period. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Aaron’s during the 1st quarter valued at $577,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Aaron’s in the second quarter worth about $6,191,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in Aaron’s by 33.6% in the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 42,578 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,250,000 after acquiring an additional 10,700 shares in the last quarter. 97.92% of the stock is 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.