Aaron’s (NYSE:PRG) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aaron’s (NYSE:PRG) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on PRG. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Aaron’s in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. BTIG Research raised Aaron’s from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $31.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, November 21st. B. Riley started coverage on shares of Aaron’s in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Aaron’s from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aaron’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.71.

Aaron’s Price Performance

Shares of PRG stock opened at $30.29 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $29.35 and its 200 day moving average is $31.12. 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 price-to-earnings ratio of 7.69 and a beta of 1.75. Aaron’s has a twelve month low of $23.50 and a twelve month high of $44.42.

Aaron’s (NYSE:PRG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $595.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $586.11 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. The company’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. Research analysts expect that Aaron’s will post 3.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aaron’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 18th. Aaron’s’s payout ratio is currently 13.20%.

Institutional Trading of Aaron’s

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new stake in Aaron’s in the 3rd quarter valued at about $374,000. Morningstar Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Aaron’s during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,307,000. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in Aaron’s in the 3rd quarter valued at about $403,000. Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Aaron’s in the third quarter worth $259,000. Finally, Prelude Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aaron’s in the third quarter worth $261,000. 97.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Aaron’s

PROG Holdings, Inc (NYSE: PRG), formerly known as Aaron’s, is a North American provider of lease-to-own and consumer finance solutions. The company operates through two primary segments: Aaron’s Business Solutions and Progressive Financial Services. Through Aaron’s Business Solutions, PROG offers customers access to furniture, electronics, home appliances and technology products via lease ownership arrangements, serving both individual consumers and small businesses.

The Progressive Financial Services segment provides lease-purchase and retail point-of-sale financing programs to customers with limited credit histories.