Squarepoint Ops LLC Boosts Holdings in PROG Holdings, Inc $PRG

Key Points

• Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its PROG Holdings stake by 143% in the second quarter to 107,278 shares valued at approximately $5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 97.92% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: PROG has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and a $49.44 average price target, while recent firms raised ratings and targets.
• PROG reported quarterly EPS of $1.19, exceeding the $0.95 consensus estimate, and generated $719.72 million in revenue. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.14, equivalent to a 1.5% yield.

Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in shares of PROG Holdings, Inc (NYSE:PRG - Free Report) by 143.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 107,278 shares of the fintech holding company's stock after acquiring an additional 63,128 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned about 0.27% of PROG worth $5,000,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of PROG by 4,444.7% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 2,254,199 shares of the fintech holding company's stock worth $105,068,000 after purchasing an additional 2,204,598 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PROG by 436.0% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,824,091 shares of the fintech holding company's stock valued at $53,792,000 after purchasing an additional 1,483,751 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 717,932 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of PROG in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,229,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PROG in the 2nd quarter valued at about $22,288,000. 97.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at PROG

In other PROG news, insider Michael King sold 1,070 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total transaction of $49,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 60,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,797,950. This represents a 1.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO George M. Sewell sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.53, for a total transaction of $91,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 28,385 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,292,369.05. This trade represents a 6.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 4,000 shares of company stock worth $183,060 over the last three months. 3.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on PRG. KeyCorp lifted their price target on PROG from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research raised PROG from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of PROG from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of PROG from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, September 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of PROG from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PROG has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $49.44.

PROG Stock Down 0.6%

PROG stock opened at $36.91 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $42.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.88. PROG Holdings, Inc has a twelve month low of $25.80 and a twelve month high of $47.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.20 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a current ratio of 4.03, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

PROG (NYSE:PRG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The fintech holding company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.24. PROG had a return on equity of 21.88% and a net margin of 5.57%.The business had revenue of $719.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $713.50 million. PROG has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.000-1.200 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.750-5.000 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that PROG Holdings, Inc will post 4.95 earnings per share for the current year.

PROG Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th were paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 18th. PROG's payout ratio is currently 15.47%.

PROG Profile

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.

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