<div id="readability-page-1"><p>Castleark Management LLC bought a new stake in  PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 104,490 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,416,000. Castleark Management LLC owned about 0.25% of PROG at the end of the most recent reporting period.</p><ul><li>Will Fed Rate-Hike Pause Lead To Small-Cap Outperformance? </li></ul><p>Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of  PROG during the fourth quarter worth about $527,000.  BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in shares of  PROG in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,577,000.  Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of  PROG by 141.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,208 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 707 shares during the period.  Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in  PROG by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 377,448 shares of the company's stock worth $15,951,000 after buying an additional 34,020 shares during the last quarter.  Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its position in  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 buying an additional 157,006 shares during the period. 97.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. </p><h2>Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth</h2><p>Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PRG shares. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on PROG from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an &#34;overweight&#34; rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of PROG from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a &#34;buy&#34; rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of PROG from a &#34;buy&#34; rating to a &#34;hold&#34; rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Two investment 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of &#34;Moderate Buy&#34; and an average target price of $44.83.</p><p><b>Get Our Latest Research Report on PRG</b></p><h2>PROG Trading Down 2.4%</h2><p>Shares of PRG stock opened at $28.86 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.36 and a beta of 1.81. The company has a current ratio of 5.24, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The business's 50 day moving average is $26.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.35. PROG Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.50 and a twelve month high of $50.28. </p><p>PROG (NYSE:PRG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. PROG's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS.  Equities analysts forecast that  PROG Holdings, Inc. will post 3.45 EPS for the current year. </p><h2>PROG Announces Dividend</h2><p>The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. PROG's payout ratio is 10.66%. </p><h2>Insider Transactions at PROG</h2><p>In other PROG news, CEO Steven A. Michaels purchased 14,000 shares of PROG stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $29.03 per share, with a total value of $406,420.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 559,641 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,246,378.23. This represents a 2.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities &amp; Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Douglas C. Curling purchased 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $29.88 per share, for a total transaction of $298,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 45,913 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,371,880.44. This represents a 27.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 29,150 shares of company stock worth $852,692 over the last ninety days. 3.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders. </p><h2>PROG Profile</h2> (Free Report)<p>PROG Holdings, Inc <span>NYSE: PRG<span></span></span> 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.</p><h2>Read More</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than PROG</li><li>Best ESG Stocks: 11 Best Stocks for ESG Investing</li><li>$30B AI Opportunity: Will It Power Meta’s Next Surge?</li><li>How to Find Undervalued Stocks</li><li>Microsoft Could Rally as EU Antitrust Case Nears Resolution</li><li>What Investors Need to Know to Beat the Market</li><li>Intel Refocuses: NEX Sale and Foundry Pivot Signal New Era</li></ul><p><strong>Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PRG?</strong> Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG - Free Report).</p><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPVBSRw?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="650" height="350" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPVBSRw"/></p><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in PROG Right Now?</h2><p>Before you consider PROG, you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and PROG wasn't on the list.</p><p>While PROG currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.</p><p>View The Five Stocks Here</p>                  </div>

<p>Castleark Management LLC has invested approximately $4.42 million in PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG) by acquiring 104,490 shares during the fourth quarter. Other institutional investors have also increased their stakes in PROG. Analysts have mixed ratings on the stock, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $44.83. PROG recently reported earnings of $0.90 per share, exceeding estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.13. CEO Steven A. Michaels also purchased shares, increasing his ownership in the company.</p>

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