Castleark Management LLC Makes New $4.42 Million Investment in PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG)

Castleark Management LLC bought a new stake in PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 104,490 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,416,000. Castleark Management LLC owned 0.25% of PROG at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PRG. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of PROG by 36.8% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 779,716 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,951,000 after purchasing an additional 209,805 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in PROG by 2,008.0% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 178,550 shares of the company's stock worth $7,546,000 after buying an additional 170,080 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of PROG by 170.7% during the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 248,964 shares of the company's stock worth $10,521,000 after buying an additional 157,006 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of PROG in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,093,000. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in shares of PROG by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,564,441 shares of the company's stock valued at $108,373,000 after acquiring an additional 134,123 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.92% of the company's stock.

PROG Price Performance

PROG stock traded up $0.71 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $29.04. 93,151 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 474,384. The firm has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a PE ratio of 6.40 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. The company's fifty day moving average is $26.96 and its 200-day moving average is $35.81. PROG Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.50 and a 52 week high of $50.28.

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

PROG Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. PROG's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PRG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered PROG from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $29.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of PROG from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of PROG from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.83.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Steven A. Michaels acquired 14,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $29.03 per share, for a total transaction of $406,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 559,641 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,246,378.23. The trade was a 2.57% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Brian Garner bought 3,500 shares of PROG stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $28.93 per share, for a total transaction of $101,255.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 132,597 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,836,031.21. This trade represents a 2.71% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 19,150 shares of company stock worth $553,892 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.21% of the company's stock.

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.