PROG (NYSE:PRG) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

PROG Holdings, Inc (NYSE:PRG) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday after Jefferies Financial Group upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. The stock had previously closed at $43.76, but opened at $45.50. Jefferies Financial Group now has a $60.00 price target on the stock. PROG shares last traded at $44.1570, with a volume of 34,526 shares.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on PRG. Loop Capital cut PROG from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $48.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Zacks Research cut PROG from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of PROG in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of PROG from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 14th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of PROG in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.36.

Institutional Trading of PROG

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PRG. Portolan Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PROG during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,859,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its holdings in shares of PROG by 37.2% in the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 132,702 shares of the fintech holding company’s stock worth $3,913,000 after acquiring an additional 36,013 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in PROG by 113.5% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 40,807 shares of the fintech holding company’s stock valued at $1,203,000 after purchasing an additional 21,698 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in PROG by 28.3% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 447,192 shares of the fintech holding company’s stock valued at $13,188,000 after purchasing an additional 98,756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in PROG by 91.2% during the fourth quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 124,321 shares of the fintech holding company’s stock worth $3,666,000 after purchasing an additional 59,297 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.92% of the company’s stock.

PROG Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 4.27 and a quick ratio of 2.41. The company has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a PE ratio of 11.87 and a beta of 1.78. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.67.

PROG (NYSE:PRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The fintech holding company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $742.67 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $732.70 million. PROG had a return on equity of 21.94% and a net margin of 5.88%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. PROG has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.050-1.050 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that PROG Holdings, Inc will post 4.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PROG Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 19th. PROG’s payout ratio is currently 15.30%.

About PROG

PROG Holdings, Inc, formerly known as Aaron’s, is a North American provider of lease-to-own and consumer finance solutions. The company operates through two primary segments: Aaron’s Business Solutions and Progressive Financial Services. Through Aaron’s Business Solutions, PROG offers customers access to furniture, electronics, home appliances and technology products via lease ownership arrangements, serving both individual consumers and small businesses.

The Progressive Financial Services segment provides lease-purchase and retail point-of-sale financing programs to customers with limited credit histories.