Rent-A-Center (Nasdaq: RCII) didn't hit the Street's expectations last quarter, and investors hope that it will rebound. The company will unveil its latest earnings on Monday, July 25. Rent-A-Center is an operator in the U.S. rent-to-own industry.
What analysts say:
- Buy, sell, or hold?: Analysts strongly back Rent-A-Center, with nine of 10 rating it a buy and the remainder rating it a hold. Analysts like Rent-A-Center better than competitor Aaron's overall. Analysts' rating of Rent-A-Center has stayed constant from three months prior.
- Revenue forecasts: On average, analysts predict $699.5 million in revenue this quarter. That would represent a rise of 4.2% from the year-ago quarter.
- Wall Street earnings expectations: The average analyst estimate is earnings of $0.72 per share. Estimates range from $0.70 to $0.74.
What our community says:
CAPS All-Stars are solidly backing the stock, with 92.3% assigning it an "outperform" rating. The community at large concurs with the All-Stars, with 84.4% giving it a rating of "outperform." Although Fools are keen on Rent-A-Center, the message boards have been quiet lately, with only 77 posts in the past 30 days. Rent-A-Center has a bullish CAPS rating of four out of five stars that is about on par with the Fool community's assessment.
Management:
Rent-A-Center's income has fallen year over year by an average of 4.3%. The company's revenue has now risen for two straight quarters.
Now let's look at how efficient management is at running the business. Traditionally, margins represent the efficiency with which companies capture portions of sales dollars. The following table shows gross, operating, and net margins over the past four quarters.
| Quarter | Q1 | Q4 | Q3 | Q2 |
| Gross Margin | 17% | 16.8% | 15.2% | 17.4% |
| Operating Margin | 10.8% | 9.3% | 10.4% | 12.3% |
| Net Margin | 6% | 4.7% | 6.1% | 7.1% |
