Marshall Wace LLP Purchases New Stake in The Aaron's Company, Inc. (NYSE:AAN)

Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in The Aaron's Company, Inc. (NYSE:AAN - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 196,157 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,958,000. Marshall Wace LLP owned approximately 0.62% of Aaron's as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AAN. Alpine Associates Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Aaron's in the second quarter worth about $8,379,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in 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 buying an additional 164,392 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Aaron's by 12.1% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 759,972 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,585,000 after purchasing an additional 81,910 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Aaron's by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 350,857 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,502,000 after buying an additional 18,035 shares during the period. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aaron's in the second quarter worth about $3,230,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Aaron's Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AAN traded up $0.10 during trading on Friday, hitting $10.09. The company had a trading volume of 2,775,856 shares, compared to its average volume of 616,941. The firm has a market capitalization of $318.06 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.77 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The Aaron's Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $6.62 and a fifty-two week high of $11.90.

Aaron's (NYSE:AAN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $503.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $513.91 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.39 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that The Aaron's Company, Inc. will post -0.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Aaron's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.96%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Aaron's's dividend payout ratio is currently -63.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com began coverage on Aaron's in a research report on Tuesday. They set a "hold" rating for the company. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Aaron's in a report on Friday, June 7th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $10.10 price target (down previously from $11.00) on shares of Aaron's in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Aaron's from $8.00 to $10.10 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on Aaron's from $8.00 to $10.10 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently 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.