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Rent-A-Center (RCII) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know

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Rent-A-Center closed at $25.89 in the latest trading session, marking a -0.23% move from the prior day. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.16%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.07%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.52%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the company that leases furniture and appliances with an option to buy had gained 6.44% over the past month. This has outpaced the Consumer Discretionary sector's gain of 2.34% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.12% in that time.

RCII will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. On that day, RCII is projected to report earnings of $0.56 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 19.15%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $641.66 million, down 2.15% from the year-ago period.

RCII's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $2.12 per share and revenue of $2.61 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +100% and -1.94%, respectively.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for RCII should also be noted by investors. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. RCII is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Digging into valuation, RCII currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 12.22. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 14.27.

The Consumer Services - Miscellaneous industry is part of the Consumer Discretionary sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 83, which puts it in the top 33% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Make sure to utilize Zacks. Com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.

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