D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Has $36.11 Million Holdings in PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lowered its stake in PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG - Free Report) by 17.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 854,489 shares of the company's stock after selling 186,286 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned approximately 2.06% of PROG worth $36,111,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in PROG in the 4th quarter valued at $527,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new position in shares of PROG during the fourth quarter worth about $4,577,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of PROG by 141.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,208 shares of the company's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 707 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of PROG by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 377,448 shares of the company's stock worth $15,951,000 after purchasing an additional 34,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of PROG by 170.7% during the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 248,964 shares of the company's stock worth $10,521,000 after purchasing an additional 157,006 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.92% of the company's stock.

PROG Stock Performance

Shares of PRG traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $30.16. 171,870 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 539,670. The business's 50-day moving average price is $26.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.64 and a beta of 1.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a current ratio of 5.24. PROG Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.50 and a 12 month high of $50.28.

PROG (NYSE:PRG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.08. PROG had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 24.25%. The business had revenue of $684.09 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $678.23 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that PROG Holdings, Inc. will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current year.

PROG Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. PROG's payout ratio is 10.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Steven A. Michaels bought 14,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $29.03 per share, with a total value of $406,420.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 559,641 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,246,378.23. This represents a 2.57% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Caroline Sio-Chin Sheu bought 1,650 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $28.01 per share, with a total value of $46,216.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 18,291 shares in the company, valued at approximately $512,330.91. This trade represents a 9.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have bought 29,150 shares of company stock worth $852,692. Corporate insiders own 3.21% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PRG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of PROG from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $29.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of PROG from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of PROG from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.83.

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.