Alliancebernstein L.P. Boosts Stake in PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG)

Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG) by 16.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 120,313 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 17,011 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.29% of PROG worth $5,084,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stifel Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of PROG in the third quarter valued at $1,046,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in PROG by 6.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,776,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,137,000 after purchasing an additional 114,498 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of PROG by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 347,155 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,834,000 after buying an additional 64,197 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PROG by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 45,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,180,000 after buying an additional 13,186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of PROG by 45.6% in the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 19,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $842,000 after buying an additional 6,246 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.92% of the company’s stock.

PROG Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE PRG opened at $25.36 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 1.96. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.98. PROG Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.50 and a 1 year high of $50.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 5.24 and a quick ratio of 2.34.

PROG (NYSE:PRG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $623.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $612.67 million. PROG had a return on equity of 24.25% and a net margin of 8.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that PROG Holdings, Inc. will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current year.

PROG Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a $0.13 dividend. This is an increase from PROG’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. PROG’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.57%.

Insider Transactions at PROG

In other news, Director Caroline Sio-Chin Sheu purchased 1,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $28.01 per share, for a total transaction of $46,216.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 18,291 shares in the company, valued at approximately $512,330.91. This represents a 9.92 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Douglas C. Curling acquired 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, with a total value of $298,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 45,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,371,880.44. This represents a 27.85 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PRG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of PROG in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut PROG from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $29.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.00.

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.