KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Purchases Shares of 9,000 PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 9,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $380,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stifel Financial Corp purchased a new stake in PROG in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,046,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PROG in the 4th quarter valued at $527,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 707 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in PROG by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 377,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,951,000 after acquiring an additional 34,020 shares during the period. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its position in PROG by 170.7% in the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 248,964 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,521,000 after acquiring an additional 157,006 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.92% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of PROG from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $29.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of PROG in a research 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.00.

PROG Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:PRG opened at $25.07 on Friday. PROG Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.78 and a fifty-two week high of $50.28. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $32.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.17. The company has a quick ratio of 2.34, a current ratio of 5.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.52 and a beta of 1.96.

PROG (NYSE:PRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.72 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that PROG Holdings, Inc. will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PROG Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This is a boost from PROG’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. PROG’s payout ratio is presently 10.57%.

Insider Activity at PROG

In related news, Director Caroline Sio-Chin Sheu purchased 1,650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $28.01 per share, with a total value of $46,216.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 18,291 shares in the company, valued at $512,330.91. This represents a 9.92 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Douglas C. Curling acquired 10,000 shares of PROG stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $29.88 per share, with a total value of $298,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 45,913 shares in the company, valued at $1,371,880.44. The trade was 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 corporate insiders.

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.