PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG) Short Interest Update

PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,690,000 shares, a decrease of 30.5% from the February 13th total of 2,430,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 491,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days. Approximately 4.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of PROG

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PRG. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in PROG in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of PROG by 765.6% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 957 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of PROG by 141.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,208 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 707 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of PROG by 248.6% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,370 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in PROG during the 4th quarter worth approximately $68,000. 97.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PROG Price Performance

PROG stock traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $26.52. 474,939 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 397,031. 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 has a twelve month low of $26.02 and a twelve month high of $50.28. The company has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 2.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $36.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.97.

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. PROG had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 24.25%. The business had revenue of $623.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $612.67 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities 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 issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. This is a boost from PROG’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. PROG’s payout ratio is 10.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded PROG from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $58.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of PROG in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of PROG to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PROG has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.00.

PROG Company Profile

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.