PROG (NYSE:PRG) Shares Gap Up Following Insider Buying Activity

PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG) shares gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday following insider buying activity. The stock had previously closed at $28.48, but opened at $29.77. PROG shares last traded at $29.42, with a volume of 39,357 shares traded.

Specifically, Director Douglas C. Curling bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price 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 trade represents a 27.85 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen raised PROG to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of PROG in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.83.

PROG Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.47 and a beta of 2.18. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.77. The company has a current ratio of 5.24, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

PROG (NYSE:PRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. PROG had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 24.25%. The business had revenue of $623.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $612.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that PROG Holdings, Inc. will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Stifel Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of PROG during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,046,000. Moran Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PROG during the third quarter valued at about $3,084,000. Atom Investors LP purchased a new stake in shares of PROG in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,979,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PROG by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,430,318 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,846,000 after acquiring an additional 30,030 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of PROG during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,972,000. 97.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.