PROG (NYSE:PRG) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of PROG (NYSE:PRG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $29.00 target price on the stock, down from their prior target price of $58.00.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on PRG. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of PROG in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. TD Cowen upgraded PROG to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.00.

PROG Stock Performance

NYSE:PRG opened at $27.69 on Wednesday. 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.58. The stock has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.10 and a beta of 2.18. PROG has a twelve month low of $27.62 and a twelve month high of $50.28.

PROG (NYSE:PRG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. PROG had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 24.25%. The firm had revenue of $623.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $612.67 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.72 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that PROG will post 3.45 EPS for the current year.

PROG Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a $0.13 dividend. This is a boost from PROG’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. PROG’s payout ratio is currently 10.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Douglas C. Curling bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost 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. The trade was a 27.85 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.74% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PROG

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Stifel Financial Corp purchased a new stake in PROG during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,046,000. Moran Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of PROG in the third quarter worth approximately $3,084,000. Atom Investors LP bought a new stake in shares of PROG during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,979,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of PROG by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,430,318 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,846,000 after purchasing an additional 30,030 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PROG during the third quarter valued at $1,972,000. 97.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.