Propel (TSE:PRL) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Propel Holdings Inc. (TSE:PRL)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $29.81 and last traded at $28.86, with a volume of 403,623 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $26.51.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PRL shares. Raymond James Financial raised Propel from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from C$31.00 to C$38.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. TD Securities upgraded shares of Propel to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. TD set a C$37.00 price target on shares of Propel and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Ventum upped their target price on Propel from C$30.00 to C$34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Scotia increased their price target on Propel from C$27.00 to C$29.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Propel currently has an average rating of “Buy”.

Propel Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $24.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.36. The company has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.19 and a beta of 0.79.

Propel (TSE:PRL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.11). Propel had a return on equity of 21.12% and a net margin of 8.81%. The firm had revenue of $201.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $279.95 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Propel Holdings Inc. will post 5.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Propel Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $0.2550 per share. This is a boost from Propel’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. Propel’s payout ratio is presently 46.03%.

Insider Transactions at Propel

In related news, insider Cindy Usprech sold 9,196 shares of Propel stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.86, for a total value of $237,808.56. Corporate insiders own 33.31% of the company’s stock.

Propel Company Profile

Propel Holdings Inc is a financial technology company committed to credit inclusion and helping underserved consumers by providing fair, fast, and transparent access to credit. It operates through its two brands: MoneyKey and CreditFresh. The company, through its MoneyKey brand, is a state-licensed direct lender and offers either Installment Loans or Lines of Credit to new customers in several US states. Through its CreditFresh brand, the company operates as a bank servicer that provides marketing, technology, and loan servicing services to unaffiliated, FDIC insured, state-chartered banks in the US (Bank Program).