PROG (NYSE:PRG) Trading Up 4.7% – Here’s What Happened

PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG)’s share price was up 4.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $28.22 and last traded at $28.16. Approximately 315,716 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 39% from the average daily volume of 515,509 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.90.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on PRG. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of PROG in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of PROG from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $29.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of PROG to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.00.

PROG Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.20 and a beta of 2.14. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $39.13 and its 200-day moving average is $43.97. The company has a quick ratio of 2.34, a current ratio of 5.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

PROG (NYSE:PRG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. PROG had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 24.25%. The company had revenue of $623.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $612.67 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.72 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that PROG Holdings, Inc. will post 3.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PROG Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders 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 positive change from PROG’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. PROG’s payout ratio is 10.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PROG news, Director Douglas C. Curling purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $29.88 per share, with a total value of $298,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 45,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,371,880.44. This represents a 27.85 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Caroline Sio-Chin Sheu purchased 1,650 shares of PROG stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 18,291 shares in the company, valued at $512,330.91. This represents a 9.92 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 2.74% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PROG

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in PROG in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of PROG by 765.6% in the 4th 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 period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of PROG by 141.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 707 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of PROG by 248.6% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,370 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 977 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of PROG by 162.9% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 940 shares during the period. 97.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PROG Company Profile

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.