Aaron’s (NYSE:AAN) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

StockNews.com cut shares of Aaron’s (NYSE:AAN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Wednesday.

AAN has been the topic of several other research reports. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Aaron’s from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Aaron’s from $8.00 to $10.10 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday. BTIG Research began coverage on Aaron’s in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They set a neutral rating for the company. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Aaron’s from $8.00 to $10.10 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a hold rating and issued a $7.00 price objective on shares of Aaron’s in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Aaron’s presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $11.70.

Aaron’s Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Aaron’s stock opened at $10.03 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $307.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.70 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $7.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.86. Aaron’s has a 52-week low of $6.62 and a 52-week high of $16.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Aaron’s (NYSE:AAN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.15) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $511.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $521.05 million. Aaron’s had a negative net margin of 1.15% and a positive return on equity of 0.02%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Aaron’s will post 0.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aaron’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Aaron’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -63.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Gladius Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Aaron’s by 80.0% during the 3rd quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 2,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 1,157 shares during the period. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of Aaron’s by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 90,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $987,000 after buying an additional 1,290 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Aaron’s by 1.9% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 123,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,314,000 after purchasing an additional 2,261 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Aaron’s during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Verity Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Aaron’s by 15.8% during the 1st quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $148,000 after buying an additional 2,695 shares during the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Aaron’s

Headquartered in Atlanta, The Aaron’s Company, Inc (NYSE: AAN) is a leading, technology-enabled, omnichannel provider of lease-purchase solutions. Aaron’s engages in direct-to-consumer sales and lease ownership of furniture, appliances, consumer electronics and accessories through its approximately 1,300 company-operated and franchised stores in 47 states and Canada, as well as its e-commerce platform, Aarons.com.