PROG (NYSE:PRG) Cut to “Hold” at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of PROG (NYSE:PRG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has $29.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $58.00.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on PRG. TD Cowen raised PROG to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of PROG in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.00.

PROG Price Performance

Shares of PROG stock opened at $28.38 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.38. PROG has a 12 month low of $27.61 and a 12 month high of $50.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 2.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 5.24 and a quick ratio of 2.34.

PROG (NYSE:PRG) last announced its 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 return on equity of 24.25% and a net margin of 8.01%. The business had revenue of $623.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $612.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.72 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that PROG will post 3.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PROG Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This is a positive change from PROG’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. PROG’s dividend payout ratio is 10.57%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Caroline Sio-Chin Sheu purchased 1,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $28.01 per share, for a total transaction of $46,216.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Douglas C. Curling acquired 10,000 shares of PROG stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,371,880.44. This represents a 27.85 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 2.74% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of PROG

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of PROG during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of PROG by 765.6% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 957 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of PROG by 141.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 707 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of PROG by 248.6% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,370 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of PROG during the fourth quarter worth about $68,000. 97.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.