Rent-A-Center (NASDAQ:RCII) Lifted to “Hold” at Zacks Investment Research

Rent-A-Center (NASDAQ:RCII – Get Rating) was upgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, Zacks.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $28.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Investment Research‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 0.61% from the stock’s current price.

According to Zacks, “Rent-A-Center’s shares have slid and underperformed the industry in the past three months. The company posted first-quarter 2022 results, wherein the top and the bottom line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate as well as revenues grew year over year. However, the bottom line fell on a year-over-year basis. Revenues at the company’s namesake segment were soft on a same-store sales dip of 1.1%. Same-store sales fell due to lower merchandise sales and early payout options in the reported quarter from the prior-year corresponding period’s reading. For the second quarter of 2022, management anticipates revenues of $1.045-$1.075 billion, down from $1.19 billion generated in the year-earlier quarter. Adjusted earnings per share are envisioned between 95 cents and $1.10, lower than earnings of $1.63 delivered in the year-ago quarter.”

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on RCII. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Rent-A-Center in a report on Thursday, March 31st. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Raymond James cut shares of Rent-A-Center from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $65.00 to $40.00 in a report on Friday, February 25th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Rent-A-Center from $68.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.25.

Shares of RCII traded up $1.38 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $27.83. 21,397 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,030,616. The company has a market cap of $1.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.63 and a beta of 1.55. Rent-A-Center has a fifty-two week low of $22.70 and a fifty-two week high of $67.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 3.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $25.88 and its 200-day moving average is $38.57.

Rent-A-Center (NASDAQ:RCII – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 4th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion. Rent-A-Center had a net margin of 1.87% and a return on equity of 48.47%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.32 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Rent-A-Center will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

In related news, CEO Mitchell E. Fadel acquired 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $27.08 per share, with a total value of $1,083,200.00. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of Rent-A-Center by 12.8% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in Rent-A-Center by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 49,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,365,000 after buying an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its position in Rent-A-Center by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 28,469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,600,000 after buying an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC grew its position in Rent-A-Center by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 6,371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its position in Rent-A-Center by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 24,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,158,000 after buying an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Rent-A-Center Company Profile (Get Rating)

Rent-A-Center, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, leases household durable goods to customers on a lease-to-own basis. The company operates in four segments: Rent-A-Center Business, Acima, Mexico, and Franchising. It offers furniture and accessories, appliances, consumer electronics, computers, tablets and smartphones, tools, tires, handbags, and other accessories under rental purchase agreements.

Featured Articles