PROG (NYSE:PRG) Hits New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $25.93 and last traded at $25.99, with a volume of 788701 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $26.47.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PRG shares. TD Cowen raised shares of PROG to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of PROG in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut 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 note on Wednesday, February 26th. Two 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 MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.00.

PROG Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 2.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $36.09 and a 200-day moving average of $42.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a current ratio of 5.24.

PROG (NYSE:PRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. PROG had a return on equity of 24.25% and a net margin of 8.01%. The company had revenue of $623.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $612.67 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. PROG’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that PROG Holdings, Inc. will post 3.45 EPS for the current year.

PROG Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. This is a boost from PROG’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. PROG’s payout ratio is presently 10.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Douglas C. Curling purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $29.88 per share, with a total value of $298,800.00. Following the acquisition, 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Caroline Sio-Chin Sheu purchased 1,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $512,330.91. The trade was a 9.92 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.74% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PROG

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Stifel Financial Corp bought a new stake in PROG during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,046,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of PROG during the 4th quarter worth $527,000. Moran Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of PROG during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,084,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of PROG by 141.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 707 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC raised its holdings in PROG by 170.7% in the 4th 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. Hedge funds and other 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.