PROG (NYSE:PRG) Sets New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PRG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of PROG in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded PROG from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $58.00 to $29.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.00.

PROG Stock Down 3.8 %

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

PROG (NYSE:PRG) last posted its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $623.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $612.67 million. PROG had a return on equity of 24.25% and a net margin of 8.01%. PROG’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. This is a boost from PROG’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. PROG’s payout ratio is 10.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Douglas C. Curling acquired 10,000 shares of PROG stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $29.88 per share, for a total transaction of $298,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 45,913 shares in the company, valued at $1,371,880.44. This represents a 27.85 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Caroline Sio-Chin Sheu bought 1,650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $512,330.91. The trade was a 9.92 % 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

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in PROG by 36.8% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 779,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,951,000 after acquiring an additional 209,805 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of PROG by 2,008.0% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 178,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,546,000 after purchasing an additional 170,080 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of PROG by 170.7% in the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 248,964 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,521,000 after purchasing an additional 157,006 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in PROG during the 4th quarter worth $6,093,000. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings in PROG by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,564,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,373,000 after purchasing an additional 134,123 shares in the last quarter. 97.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.