Aaron’s (NYSE:PRG) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

Shares of Aaron’s Holdings Company, Inc. (NYSE:PRG) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $33.87, but opened at $35.59. Aaron’s shares last traded at $35.39, with a volume of 227,615 shares changing hands.

The company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $525.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $581.82 million. Aaron’s had a net margin of 5.97% and a return on equity of 20.99%. The company’s revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.80 earnings per share. Aaron’s has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.700-0.900 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.000-4.450 EPS.

Key Stories Impacting Aaron’s

Here are the key news stories impacting Aaron’s this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management raised FY‑2026 and Q1 guidance well above Street estimates — FY EPS guide of $4.00–$4.45 vs. consensus ~$3.55 and FY revenue $3.0–$3.1B vs. ~$2.7B — signaling stronger expected cash flow and margin progress. See the company release. Business Wire PR
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 EPS of $0.74 topped analyst estimates (~$0.60), showing profitability held up despite retail softness; EPS beat likely reinforced confidence in the raised guidance. (Coverage summary). Zacks: Q4 Earnings Top Estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Management hosted a full earnings presentation and call with slides/transcript that provide detail on product performance (Progressive Leasing, Purchasing Power, Four Technologies, MoneyApp) and the assumptions behind guidance; investors will dig into the transcript for credit metrics and unit economics. Earnings Presentation Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 revenue of $525.4M missed expectations (~$581.8M) and was down ~5% year‑over‑year, underscoring demand pressure in the retail environment and raising execution questions that investors will watch in future quarters. Press Materials (slides)
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 EPS was lower than a year ago ($0.80 → $0.74), reflecting near-term pressure; the stock move depends on investors’ confidence that raised guidance is achievable given recent revenue trends. Business Wire PR

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PRG has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Aaron’s from $41.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Aaron’s in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. B. Riley Financial started coverage on shares of Aaron’s in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen cut Aaron’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. Finally, BTIG Research raised Aaron’s from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $31.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, November 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.83.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PRG. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Aaron’s by 436.0% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,824,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,792,000 after buying an additional 1,483,751 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Aaron’s by 451.1% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 702,781 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,742,000 after acquiring an additional 575,255 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its holdings in Aaron’s by 172.0% in the third quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 842,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,256,000 after purchasing an additional 532,593 shares during the period. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in Aaron’s by 102.4% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 823,663 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,654,000 after purchasing an additional 416,658 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Aaron’s by 62.7% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 673,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,913,000 after purchasing an additional 259,630 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.92% of the company’s stock.

Aaron’s Stock Up 12.2%

The company has a quick ratio of 2.65, a current ratio of 4.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a PE ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 1.73. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $32.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.82.

About Aaron’s

PROG Holdings, Inc (NYSE: PRG), formerly known as Aaron’s, is a North American provider of lease-to-own and consumer finance solutions. The company operates through two primary segments: Aaron’s Business Solutions and Progressive Financial Services. Through Aaron’s Business Solutions, PROG offers customers access to furniture, electronics, home appliances and technology products via lease ownership arrangements, serving both individual consumers and small businesses.

The Progressive Financial Services segment provides lease-purchase and retail point-of-sale financing programs to customers with limited credit histories.