Verity Asset Management Inc. Increases Holdings in The Aaron’s Company, Inc. (NYSE:AAN)

Verity Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in The Aaron’s Company, Inc. (NYSE:AAN) by 15.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,732 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,695 shares during the period. Verity Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.06% of Aaron’s worth $148,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Aaron’s during the fourth quarter worth approximately $178,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Aaron’s during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Aaron’s during the fourth quarter worth approximately $218,000. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,290 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in Aaron’s by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 407,498 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,434,000 after acquiring an additional 55,740 shares during the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Aaron’s Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE AAN traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $10.03. The stock had a trading volume of 542,863 shares, compared to its average volume of 764,889. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $316.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.70 and a beta of 1.43. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $9.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.67. The Aaron’s Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $6.62 and a 52-week high of $14.19.

Aaron’s (NYSE:AAN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $511.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.66 EPS. Analysts expect that The Aaron’s Company, Inc. will post 0.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aaron’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.99%. Aaron’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently -63.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on AAN. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $10.10 price objective (down from $11.00) on shares of Aaron’s in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Aaron’s from $8.00 to $10.10 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Aaron’s in a research note on Monday, July 29th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. TD Cowen upped 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. Finally, Loop Capital upped their target price on Aaron’s from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.46.

Aaron’s 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.