PROG (NYSE:PRG) Trading 5.9% Higher After Earnings Beat

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

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

PROG Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on PRG. TD Cowen increased their target price on PROG from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of PROG from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Stephens raised shares of PROG from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.60.

Institutional Trading of PROG

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRG. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board purchased a new position in PROG during the first quarter valued at approximately $482,000. Guidance Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PROG during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $461,000. DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of PROG by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 46,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,598,000 after purchasing an additional 4,920 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in PROG during the fourth quarter worth $363,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in PROG by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,638,231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,278,000 after buying an additional 105,101 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.92% of the company’s stock.

PROG Stock Down 2.7 %

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 3.91 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The company has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a PE ratio of 13.87 and a beta of 2.08.

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.