Jefferies Financial Group Downgrades PROG (NYSE:PRG) to Hold

PROG (NYSE:PRG) was downgraded by research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $29.00 target price on the stock, down from their prior target price of $58.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 3.68% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of PROG in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. TD Cowen raised shares of 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, PROG has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.00.

PROG Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:PRG opened at $27.97 on Wednesday. PROG has a 12 month low of $27.61 and a 12 month high of $50.28. The firm has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 2.18. The company has a quick ratio of 2.34, a current ratio of 5.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company’s 50 day moving average is $40.57 and its 200-day moving average is $44.46.

PROG (NYSE:PRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $612.67 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that PROG will post 3.45 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at PROG

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PROG

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PROG in the 4th quarter valued at $1,845,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in PROG by 170.3% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 29,706 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,255,000 after buying an additional 18,715 shares in the last quarter. Castleark Management LLC acquired a new position in PROG during the 4th quarter worth about $4,416,000. PharVision Advisers LLC acquired a new position in PROG during the 4th quarter worth about $288,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in PROG by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 123,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,235,000 after buying an additional 18,760 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.