PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $49.00.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of PROG in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. TD Cowen upgraded PROG to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered PROG from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $58.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th.

PROG Price Performance

PROG stock opened at $28.16 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $38.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.84. PROG has a one year low of $26.52 and a one year high of $50.28. 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 firm has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a PE ratio of 6.20 and a beta of 2.14.

PROG (NYSE:PRG) last posted 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. PROG had a return on equity of 24.25% and a net margin of 8.01%. The firm had revenue of $623.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $612.67 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.72 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that PROG will post 3.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PROG Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 1.85%. PROG’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.57%.

Insider Activity at PROG

In other news, Director Caroline Sio-Chin Sheu acquired 1,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were bought at an average price of $28.01 per share, with a total value of $46,216.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 18,291 shares in the company, valued at $512,330.91. The trade was a 9.92 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Douglas C. Curling acquired 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $29.88 per share, for a total transaction of $298,800.00. Following the acquisition, 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.74% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PROG

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PRG. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in PROG during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in PROG by 765.6% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 957 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in PROG by 141.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 707 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in PROG by 248.6% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,370 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 977 shares during the period. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in PROG during the 4th quarter worth about $68,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.92% of the company’s stock.

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.