Short Interest in PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG) Increases By 24.4%

PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,500,000 shares, a growth of 24.4% from the March 15th total of 2,010,000 shares. Approximately 6.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 563,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.4 days.

PROG Trading Down 2.1 %

PRG traded down $0.54 on Monday, hitting $25.70. 307,249 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 448,416. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a current ratio of 5.24. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a PE ratio of 5.66 and a beta of 1.96. PROG has a 12 month low of $23.50 and a 12 month high of $50.28.

PROG (NYSE:PRG) last issued its 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. The firm had revenue of $623.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $612.67 million. PROG had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 24.25%. The business’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.72 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that PROG will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current year.

PROG Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This is a boost from PROG’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. PROG’s payout ratio is 11.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded PROG from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $58.00 to $29.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of PROG in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.00.

Insider Transactions at PROG

In other PROG news, Director Caroline Sio-Chin Sheu purchased 1,650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $28.01 per share, with a total value of $46,216.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 18,291 shares in the company, valued at approximately $512,330.91. The trade was a 9.92 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Douglas C. Curling bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were bought at an average price of $29.88 per share, with a total value of $298,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 45,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,371,880.44. The trade was a 27.85 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of PROG

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRG. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PROG in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in PROG by 765.6% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 957 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 707 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position 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 worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of PROG in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $68,000. 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.