Aaron’s Holdings Company, Inc. (NYSE:PRG) Short Interest Up 35.1% in December

Aaron’s Holdings Company, Inc. (NYSE:PRG) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,178,456 shares, a growth of 35.1% from the November 30th total of 2,352,942 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 532,998 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.0 days. Approximately 8.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Approximately 8.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 532,998 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.0 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PRG. Wall Street Zen raised Aaron’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Aaron’s from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. BTIG Research upgraded Aaron’s from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $31.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 21st. B. Riley assumed coverage on Aaron’s in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Aaron’s in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.71.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aaron’s

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRG. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its holdings in Aaron’s by 503.6% in the 2nd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 109,597 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,217,000 after acquiring an additional 91,439 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Aaron’s during the first quarter worth $577,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Aaron’s in the second quarter valued at $6,191,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in Aaron’s by 33.6% in the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 42,578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,250,000 after purchasing an additional 10,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Aaron’s by 2.3% during the second quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 17,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $519,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the period. 97.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aaron’s Price Performance

Shares of PRG stock traded down $0.22 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $30.29. 367,990 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 623,098. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.12. The firm has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of 7.69 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 4.74 and a quick ratio of 2.65. Aaron’s has a 1-year low of $23.50 and a 1-year high of $44.42.

Aaron’s (NYSE:PRG) last released its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $595.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $586.11 million. Aaron’s had a return on equity of 22.36% and a net margin of 6.54%.The company’s revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.77 EPS. 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. On average, equities research analysts expect that Aaron’s will post 3.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aaron’s Announces Dividend

The company 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 13.20%.

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.