Great Lakes Advisors LLC Acquires 157,006 Shares of PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG) by 170.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 248,964 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 157,006 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.60% of PROG worth $10,521,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRG. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in PROG in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,972,000. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in PROG by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 14,661 shares of the company’s stock worth $711,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management increased its position in PROG by 146.1% in the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 27,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,350,000 after buying an additional 16,531 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PROG by 47.9% during the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $506,000 after purchasing an additional 3,384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of PROG during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $505,000. 97.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PROG Price Performance

Shares of PRG stock opened at $27.10 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 5.24 and a quick ratio of 2.34. The firm has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.97 and a beta of 2.14. PROG Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $26.52 and a one year high of $50.28.

PROG (NYSE:PRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $623.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $612.67 million. PROG had a return on equity of 24.25% and a net margin of 8.01%. PROG’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. On average, analysts expect that PROG Holdings, Inc. will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.13 dividend. This is a positive change from PROG’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. PROG’s payout ratio is currently 10.57%.

Insider Activity at PROG

In other PROG news, Director Douglas C. Curling acquired 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 45,913 shares in the company, valued at $1,371,880.44. This trade represents a 27.85 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Caroline Sio-Chin Sheu acquired 1,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $28.01 per share, with a total value of $46,216.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,291 shares in the company, valued at approximately $512,330.91. The trade was a 9.92 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.74% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of PROG in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. TD Cowen raised PROG to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered PROG from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $29.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.