PROG (NYSE:PRG) Stock Rating Lowered by Jefferies Financial Group

PROG (NYSE:PRG) was downgraded by research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. They presently have a $29.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $58.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 3.68% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. TD Cowen raised shares of PROG to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of PROG in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.00.

PROG Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE PRG opened at $27.97 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.46. PROG has a 52 week low of $27.61 and a 52 week high of $50.28. The company has a current ratio of 5.24, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 2.18.

PROG (NYSE:PRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.72 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that PROG will post 3.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at PROG

In related news, Director Douglas C. Curling bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $29.88 per share, for a total transaction of $298,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 45,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,371,880.44. This represents a 27.85 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Caroline Sio-Chin Sheu bought 1,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was bought at an average price of $28.01 per share, with a total value of $46,216.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,291 shares in the company, valued at $512,330.91. This represents a 9.92 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 2.74% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PROG

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PRG. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of PROG during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,845,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of PROG by 170.3% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 29,706 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,255,000 after buying an additional 18,715 shares during the period. Castleark Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of PROG in the fourth quarter worth about $4,416,000. PharVision Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of PROG in the fourth quarter worth about $288,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PROG by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 123,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,235,000 after buying an additional 18,760 shares during the period. 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.