UPDATE: Stifel Nicolaus Raises PT to $44 on Rent-A-Center on RAC Acceptance Growth

Stifel Nicolaus reiterated its Buy rating on Rent-A-Center RCII and raised its price target from $42 to $44. Stifel Nicolaus noted, "What was generally pleasing to us was the fact that the company's two growth vehicles, RAC Acceptance and RTO stores in Mexico, remain very much on the track to deliver current and future revenue growth and profit growth currently within RAC. RAC Acceptance is the company's strongest growth engine, adding 2.5 points to the company's consolidated comp growth, which was 1.2% overall. … With revenues and earnings poised to accelerate in growth, we expect an upwards revision in the valuation or a forward P/E closer to 13x, giving us a target price of $44 per share 12 months out." Rent-A-Center closed at $33.86 on Tuesday.