PROG (NYSE:PRG) Trading Up 5.9% Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG) shares traded up 5.9% on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $36.00 and last traded at $34.70. 119,711 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 390,350 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.77.

The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.08. PROG had a return on equity of 26.67% and a net margin of 4.71%. The company had revenue of $641.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $632.24 million.

PROG Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. PROG’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PRG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of PROG from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen upped their target price on PROG from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Stephens raised PROG from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, PROG has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.60.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PROG

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PRG. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in PROG by 719.1% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 178,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,529,000 after buying an additional 157,024 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in PROG by 33.8% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 145,706 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,839,000 after purchasing an additional 36,776 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in PROG by 161.0% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 107,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,563,000 after purchasing an additional 66,185 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund acquired a new position in PROG during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $921,000. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of PROG by 621.5% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 144,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,792,000 after buying an additional 124,294 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.92% of the company’s stock.

PROG Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $32.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion, a PE ratio of 13.87 and a beta of 2.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 3.91 and a quick ratio of 1.49.

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.