PROG (NYSE:PRG) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

PROG Holdings, Inc (NYSE:PRG)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday after Jefferies Financial Group upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. The stock had previously closed at $43.76, but opened at $45.50. Jefferies Financial Group now has a $60.00 price target on the stock. PROG shares last traded at $44.1570, with a volume of 34,526 shares trading hands.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of PROG in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of PROG from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of PROG from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, June 14th. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of PROG in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price target on shares of PROG from $40.00 to $47.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.36.

Institutional Trading of PROG

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in PROG by 436.0% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,824,091 shares of the fintech holding company’s stock worth $53,792,000 after buying an additional 1,483,751 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of PROG by 588.0% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 840,029 shares of the fintech holding company’s stock valued at $24,100,000 after acquiring an additional 717,932 shares during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of PROG by 102.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 823,663 shares of the fintech holding company’s stock valued at $26,654,000 after acquiring an additional 416,658 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of PROG by 37.7% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,159,874 shares of the fintech holding company’s stock valued at $34,205,000 after acquiring an additional 317,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in PROG by 62.7% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 673,405 shares of the fintech holding company’s stock worth $17,913,000 after purchasing an additional 259,630 shares during the period. 97.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PROG Trading Down 0.7%

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.87 and a beta of 1.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a current ratio of 4.27. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $37.39 and a 200-day moving average of $33.67.

PROG (NYSE:PRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The fintech holding company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.46. PROG had a return on equity of 21.94% and a net margin of 5.88%.The company had revenue of $742.67 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $732.70 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. PROG has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.050-1.050 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that PROG Holdings, Inc will post 4.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PROG Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 19th. PROG’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.30%.

About PROG

PROG Holdings, Inc, formerly known as Aaron’s, is a North American provider of lease-to-own and consumer finance solutions. The company operates through two primary segments: Aaron’s Business Solutions and Progressive Financial Services. Through Aaron’s Business Solutions, PROG offers customers access to furniture, electronics, home appliances and technology products via lease ownership arrangements, serving both individual consumers and small businesses.

The Progressive Financial Services segment provides lease-purchase and retail point-of-sale financing programs to customers with limited credit histories.