AlphaQuest LLC Cuts Position in PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG)

AlphaQuest LLC cut its stake in PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG) by 22.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,995 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,140 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in PROG were worth $169,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRG. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in PROG by 141.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 707 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its position in PROG by 162.9% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 940 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in PROG by 53.9% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 706 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in PROG by 38.6% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,000 after acquiring an additional 1,027 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd grew its position in PROG by 2,762.2% in the third quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 3,635 shares of the company’s stock worth $176,000 after acquiring an additional 3,508 shares in the last quarter. 97.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of PROG from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $29.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of PROG in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of PROG to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, PROG has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.00.

PROG Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PRG opened at $26.73 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 2.14. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $37.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.12. The company has a current ratio of 5.24, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. PROG Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.02 and a 12 month high of $50.28.

PROG (NYSE:PRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $623.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $612.67 million. PROG had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 24.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that PROG Holdings, Inc. 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. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. This is a boost from PROG’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. PROG’s payout ratio is currently 10.57%.

Insider Activity at PROG

In related news, Director Caroline Sio-Chin Sheu purchased 1,650 shares of PROG stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were bought at an average price of $28.01 per share, for a total transaction of $46,216.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $512,330.91. This represents a 9.92 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Douglas C. Curling purchased 10,000 shares of PROG stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were bought 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 $1,371,880.44. This trade represents a 27.85 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.74% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

PROG 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.