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

PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $28.67, but opened at $29.92. PROG shares last traded at $29.17, with a volume of 37,738 shares traded.

Specifically, CEO Steven A. Michaels bought 14,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $29.03 per share, with a total value of $406,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 559,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,246,378.23. This represents a 2.57% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Brian Garner bought 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $28.93 per share, with a total value of $101,255.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 132,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,836,031.21. The trade was a 2.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PRG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Loop Capital decreased their target price on PROG from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded PROG from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $29.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their target price on PROG from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.83.

PROG Stock Up 0.2%

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.63 and a beta of 1.81. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $26.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.64. 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 (NYSE:PRG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $684.09 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $678.23 million. PROG had a return on equity of 24.25% and a net margin of 8.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that PROG Holdings, Inc. will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current year.

PROG Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. PROG’s dividend payout ratio is 10.66%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PROG

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRG. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in PROG during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in PROG by 785.6% during the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 927 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in PROG by 765.6% during the fourth 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 lifted its stake in PROG by 141.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 707 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in PROG by 248.6% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,370 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 977 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.92% of the company’s stock.

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.