PROG (NYSE:PRG) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $25.24 and last traded at $25.52, with a volume of 99776 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $28.07.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PRG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stephens restated 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 lowered shares of PROG from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $29.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.00.

PROG Trading Down 8.1 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a PE ratio of 5.68 and a beta of 2.14. The company has a quick ratio of 2.34, a current ratio of 5.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

PROG (NYSE:PRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 24.25% and a net margin of 8.01%. PROG’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.72 EPS. Equities analysts expect that PROG Holdings, Inc. will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current year.

PROG Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a $0.13 dividend. This is a boost from PROG’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. PROG’s payout ratio is presently 10.57%.

Insider Transactions at PROG

In related news, Director Douglas C. Curling bought 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $29.88 per share, with a total value of $298,800.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 45,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,371,880.44. This trade represents a 27.85 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Caroline Sio-Chin Sheu purchased 1,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $28.01 per share, with a total value of $46,216.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 18,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $512,330.91. This represents 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 company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PRG. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in PROG by 36.8% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 779,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,951,000 after purchasing an additional 209,805 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of PROG by 2,008.0% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 178,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,546,000 after buying an additional 170,080 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 157,006 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in PROG during the 4th quarter valued at about $6,093,000. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in PROG by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,564,441 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,373,000 after purchasing an additional 134,123 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.