PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG) Short Interest Down 30.5% in February

PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG) was the target of a significant 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 currently 3.4 days. Currently, 4.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PROG

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PRG. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in shares of PROG by 36.8% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 779,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,951,000 after acquiring an additional 209,805 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of PROG by 2,008.0% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 178,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,546,000 after acquiring an additional 170,080 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 157,006 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in PROG in the 4th quarter worth about $6,093,000. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in PROG by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,564,441 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,373,000 after buying an additional 134,123 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of PROG in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. TD Cowen raised shares of PROG to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of PROG from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $29.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.00.

PROG Price Performance

PRG stock opened at $26.52 on Tuesday. PROG has a 52 week low of $25.99 and a 52 week high of $50.28. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 2.14.

PROG (NYSE:PRG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $612.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that PROG will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PROG Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. This is an increase from PROG’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. PROG’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.57%.

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.