PROG (NYSE:PRG) Hits New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $27.44 and last traded at $27.29, with a volume of 40679 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $28.81.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of PROG from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $58.00 to $29.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of PROG in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded PROG to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PROG presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.00.

PROG Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.10 and a beta of 2.18. The company has a current ratio of 5.24, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.32.

PROG (NYSE:PRG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $623.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $612.67 million. PROG had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 24.25%. PROG’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.72 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that PROG Holdings, Inc. will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PROG Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This is a boost from PROG’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. PROG’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Caroline Sio-Chin Sheu acquired 1,650 shares of PROG stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were bought at an average price of $28.01 per share, for a total transaction of $46,216.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 18,291 shares in the company, valued at $512,330.91. This trade represents a 9.92 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Douglas C. Curling bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $29.88 per share, with a total value of $298,800.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 45,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,371,880.44. This represents a 27.85 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.74% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of PROG

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PRG. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in PROG during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in PROG by 765.6% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 957 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in PROG by 141.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,208 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 707 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in PROG by 248.6% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,370 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP grew its position in shares of PROG by 162.9% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 940 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.92% of the company’s stock.

About PROG

PROG Holdings, Inc (NYSE:PRG) is a financial technology holding company based in Salt Lake City, Utah with three business segments: Progressive Leasing, which offers lease-to-own transactions primarily to credit-challenged consumers through e-commerce and point-of-sale retail partners, via online, mobile, and in-store solutions; Vive Financial, which provides consumers who may not qualify for traditional prime lending with a variety of second-look, revolving credit products through private label and branded credit cards; and Four Technologies, which provides consumers of all credit backgrounds Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) options through four interest-free installments via its platform, Four.