Vestcor Inc Acquires 3,118 Shares of PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG)

Vestcor Inc increased its holdings in shares of PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG) by 11.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,703 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,118 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc owned approximately 0.07% of PROG worth $1,255,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in shares of PROG by 36.8% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 779,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,951,000 after buying an additional 209,805 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its holdings in PROG by 170.7% in the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 248,964 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,521,000 after purchasing an additional 157,006 shares during the period. Walleye Capital LLC increased its stake in PROG by 476.7% in the third quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 150,495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,298,000 after purchasing an additional 124,397 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of PROG by 6.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,776,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,137,000 after purchasing an additional 114,498 shares during the period. Finally, Atom Investors LP bought a new position in shares of PROG during the 3rd quarter worth about $4,979,000. 97.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PROG Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE PRG opened at $26.73 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 5.24, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.14. PROG Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.02 and a 12 month high of $50.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 2.14.

PROG (NYSE:PRG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $612.67 million. PROG had a return on equity of 24.25% and a net margin of 8.01%. PROG’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.72 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that PROG Holdings, Inc. will post 3.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PROG Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a $0.13 dividend. This is a positive change from PROG’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. PROG’s payout ratio is currently 10.57%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Douglas C. Curling bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $29.88 per share, with a total value of $298,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 45,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 this link. Also, Director Caroline Sio-Chin Sheu bought 1,650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $28.01 per share, for a total transaction of $46,216.50. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 2.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of PROG in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered PROG from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $29.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of PROG to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.00.

PROG 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.