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

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

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on AAN. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Aaron’s from $8.00 to $10.10 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Aaron’s from $8.00 to $10.10 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a hold rating and set a $10.10 price objective (down previously from $11.00) on shares of Aaron’s in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Aaron’s in a report on Friday, June 7th. They set a neutral rating on the stock. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Aaron’s from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aaron’s has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $9.46.

Aaron’s Stock Performance

NYSE AAN opened at $10.06 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.02. Aaron’s has a one year low of $6.62 and a one year high of $11.90. The firm has a market cap of $317.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.73 and a beta of 1.43.

Aaron’s (NYSE:AAN) last issued 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). The firm had revenue of $503.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $513.91 million. Aaron’s had a negative net margin of 2.06% and a negative return on equity of 2.08%. The firm’s revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.39 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Aaron’s will post -0.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aaron’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.97%. Aaron’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -63.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aaron’s

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Aaron’s by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,005,375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,938,000 after buying an additional 93,207 shares during the last quarter. Water Island Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aaron’s during the 2nd quarter worth $9,711,000. Alpine Associates Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Aaron’s during the 2nd quarter worth $8,379,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Aaron’s by 25.5% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 807,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,056,000 after purchasing an additional 164,392 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Aaron’s by 12.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 759,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,585,000 after purchasing an additional 81,910 shares in the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.