PROG (NYSE:PRG) Stock Price Up 4.7% – Still a Buy?

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on PRG shares. TD Cowen upgraded shares of PROG to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of PROG in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of PROG from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $29.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.00.

PROG Stock Down 1.4 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.20 and a beta of 2.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a current ratio of 5.24. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.97.

PROG (NYSE:PRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $623.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $612.67 million. PROG had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 24.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that PROG Holdings, Inc. will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current year.

PROG Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.85%. This is a positive change from PROG’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. PROG’s payout ratio is 10.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PROG news, Director Caroline Sio-Chin Sheu bought 1,650 shares of PROG 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 acquisition, the director now owns 18,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $512,330.91. This trade represents a 9.92 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Douglas C. Curling purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was acquired 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 directly owns 45,913 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,371,880.44. The trade was a 27.85 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.74% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of PROG

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of PROG by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 23,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $980,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of PROG by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 19,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $833,000 after buying an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank increased its holdings in PROG by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 39,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,649,000 after buying an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming raised its position in PROG by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 5,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 560 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in PROG by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $684,000 after acquiring an additional 631 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.92% of the company’s stock.

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.