StockNews.com Lowers Progressive (NYSE:PGR) to Hold

StockNews.com cut shares of Progressive (NYSE:PGR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Progressive from $242.00 to $251.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Progressive from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $367.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $319.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $268.19.

Progressive Trading Up 1.5 %

PGR stock opened at $255.37 on Wednesday. Progressive has a 1-year low of $149.14 and a 1-year high of $260.46. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $247.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $223.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $149.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.14, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.54 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.57 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Progressive will post 13.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 3rd were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.09%.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,975 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total value of $850,689.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,780 shares in the company, valued at $7,015,247.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total value of $850,689.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,780 shares in the company, valued at $7,015,247.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total value of $9,281,827.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 517,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $110,665,641.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 144,383 shares of company stock worth $33,446,453. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,920 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,580,000 after buying an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in Progressive during the first quarter worth approximately $345,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in Progressive by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,765 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $365,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 1st quarter worth $528,000. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. grew its position in shares of Progressive by 5.3% in the first quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 5,518 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,141,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

About Progressive

The Progressive Corporation, an insurance holding company, provides personal and commercial auto, personal residential and commercial property, business related general liability, and other specialty property-casualty insurance products and related services in the United States. It operates in three segments: Personal Lines, Commercial Lines, and Property.