PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

by · The Markets Daily

PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG – Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,690,000 shares, a drop 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. Approximately 4.3% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Douglas C. Curling acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was acquired at an average price 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,371,880.44. This trade represents a 27.85 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Caroline Sio-Chin Sheu bought 1,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 18,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $512,330.91. This trade represents a 9.92 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 2.74% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of PROG during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of PROG by 765.6% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 957 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of PROG by 141.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 707 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PROG by 248.6% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,370 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of PROG in the fourth quarter valued at $68,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on PRG. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of PROG from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. TD Cowen raised shares of PROG to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of PROG in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PROG has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.00.

Get Our Latest Report on PRG

PROG Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of PROG stock traded down $0.19 on Monday, hitting $26.52. The company had a trading volume of 474,939 shares, compared to its average volume of 397,031. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $36.98 and a 200-day moving average of $42.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 5.24 and a quick ratio of 2.34. PROG has a twelve month low of $26.02 and a twelve month high of $50.28. 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 – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $623.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $612.67 million. PROG had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 24.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.72 EPS. Research analysts predict that PROG will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current year.

PROG Increases Dividend

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

About PROG

(Get Free Report)

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.

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