Aaron’s (NYSE:AAN) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Aaron’s (NYSE:AAN – Get Rating) in a research report released on Thursday. The firm issued a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on AAN. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Aaron’s from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 6th. Stephens reissued an equal weight rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of Aaron’s in a report on Thursday, March 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $13.13.

Aaron’s Stock Down 5.9 %

NYSE:AAN opened at $9.46 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.00. Aaron’s has a fifty-two week low of $7.64 and a fifty-two week high of $23.63. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.95.

Aaron’s (NYSE:AAN – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 2nd. The company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.11. Aaron’s had a negative net margin of 0.23% and a positive return on equity of 9.09%. The firm had revenue of $589.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $591.15 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Aaron’s will post 0.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aaron’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 15th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.29%. This is an increase from Aaron’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. Aaron’s’s payout ratio is currently -263.16%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aaron’s

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAN. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aaron’s in the fourth quarter worth $8,838,000. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Aaron’s by 7.5% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,714,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,746,000 after buying an additional 398,527 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aaron’s by 940.2% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 346,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,039,000 after buying an additional 313,044 shares in the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aaron’s by 120.0% in the fourth quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 420,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,029,000 after buying an additional 229,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Aaron’s by 5.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,976,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,853,000 after buying an additional 221,788 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.43% of the company’s stock.

Aaron’s Company Profile

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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.