StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Aaron’s (NYSE:AAN)

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Aaron’s (NYSE:AAN) in a research report released on Friday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on AAN. TD Cowen increased their target price on Aaron’s from $8.00 to $10.10 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a hold rating and set a $10.10 price objective (down previously from $11.00) on shares of Aaron’s in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. BTIG Research started coverage on Aaron’s in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They set a neutral rating for the company. Loop Capital raised their price objective on Aaron’s from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Aaron’s from $8.00 to $10.10 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aaron’s currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $9.46.

Aaron’s Stock Performance

NYSE AAN opened at $10.09 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $10.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.59. Aaron’s has a twelve month low of $6.62 and a twelve month high of $12.44. The company has a market capitalization of $318.04 million, a PE ratio of -12.77 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Aaron’s (NYSE:AAN) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.03 by ($0.10). Aaron’s had a negative return on equity of 2.08% and a negative net margin of 2.06%. The business had revenue of $503.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $513.91 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.39 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Aaron’s will post -0.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Aaron’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Aaron’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently -63.29%.

Institutional Trading of Aaron’s

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AAN. Water Island Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aaron’s in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,711,000. Alpine Associates Management Inc. bought a new stake in Aaron’s during the 2nd quarter valued at $8,379,000. Gabelli Funds LLC bought a new stake in Aaron’s during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,230,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Aaron’s by 139.7% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 392,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,916,000 after acquiring an additional 228,678 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acuitas Investments LLC bought a new stake in Aaron’s during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,244,000. Institutional investors own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

Aaron’s Company Profile

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.