O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Increases Position in PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG) by 20.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 86,771 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,947 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.21% of PROG worth $3,667,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in PROG by 248.6% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,370 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 977 shares in the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in PROG in the 4th quarter worth about $1,235,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in PROG during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in PROG by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 562,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,773,000 after purchasing an additional 9,162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in PROG during the 4th quarter valued at about $68,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.92% of the company’s stock.

PROG Trading Up 2.3 %

NYSE:PRG opened at $28.16 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a PE ratio of 6.20 and a beta of 2.14. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.43. PROG Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.93 and a 12 month high of $50.28.

PROG (NYSE:PRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $612.67 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.72 earnings per share. PROG’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that PROG Holdings, Inc. will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current year.

PROG Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This is a boost from PROG’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. PROG’s dividend payout ratio is 10.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Caroline Sio-Chin Sheu bought 1,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $28.01 per share, with a total value of $46,216.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 18,291 shares in the company, valued at $512,330.91. This trade represents a 9.92 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Douglas C. Curling purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 45,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,371,880.44. This trade represents a 27.85 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.74% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PRG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of PROG in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded PROG from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.00.

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.