PROG (NYSE:PRG) Trading 4.7% Higher – What’s Next?

PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG)’s stock price was up 4.7% during 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 recently weighed in on PRG. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of PROG in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. TD Cowen raised PROG to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered PROG from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $58.00 to $29.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.00.

PROG Trading Up 5.9 %

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.28 and a beta of 2.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 5.24 and a quick ratio of 2.34.

PROG (NYSE:PRG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $623.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $612.67 million. PROG had a return on equity of 24.25% and a net margin of 8.01%. The business’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that PROG Holdings, Inc. will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PROG Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This is an increase from PROG’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. PROG’s payout ratio is currently 10.57%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Creative Planning increased its stake in PROG by 34.5% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 9,018 shares of the company’s stock valued at $437,000 after buying an additional 2,312 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in PROG in the third quarter worth approximately $1,972,000. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of PROG by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 14,661 shares of the company’s stock worth $711,000 after buying an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management boosted its stake in PROG by 146.1% during the third quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 27,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,350,000 after buying an additional 16,531 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in PROG by 47.9% during the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $506,000 after acquiring an additional 3,384 shares during the period. 97.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.