Aaron’s (NYSE:PRG) Lowered to Hold Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Aaron’s (NYSE:PRG) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on PRG. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Aaron’s in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Aaron’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Aaron’s from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.80.

Aaron’s Stock Down 0.2%

PRG stock traded down $0.08 during trading on Monday, reaching $31.97. 53,119 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 502,589. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $31.53 and its 200 day moving average is $30.88. Aaron’s has a twelve month low of $24.51 and a twelve month high of $41.14. The company has a current ratio of 4.71, a quick ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.88 and a beta of 1.81.

Aaron’s (NYSE:PRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.14. Aaron’s had a return on equity of 20.99% and a net margin of 5.97%.The business had revenue of $525.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $581.82 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.80 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Aaron’s has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.700-0.900 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.000-4.450 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Aaron’s will post 4.21 EPS for the current year.

Aaron’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 12th were paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. This is a boost from Aaron’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 12th. Aaron’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.56%.

Institutional Trading of Aaron’s

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PRG. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Aaron’s by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 13,199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $389,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Aaron’s by 82.8% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,117 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aaron’s by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 20,948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $618,000 after acquiring an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aaron’s by 45.3% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aaron’s by 1.2% in the third quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 48,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,568,000 after acquiring an additional 564 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), 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.