Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Hits New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday after TD Cowen raised their price target on the stock from $197.00 to $237.00. TD Cowen currently has a hold rating on the stock. Progressive traded as high as $262.85 and last traded at $262.32, with a volume of 318050 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $255.27.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Progressive from $281.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $267.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Hsbc Global Res raised Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, HSBC upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $253.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $269.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 6,122 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.19, for a total transaction of $1,439,833.18. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 32,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,600,400.04. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Progressive news, Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,180 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.28, for a total value of $549,970.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,723 shares in the company, valued at $3,462,038.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 6,122 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.19, for a total transaction of $1,439,833.18. Following the sale, the insider now owns 32,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,600,400.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 74,843 shares of company stock worth $18,674,912 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,221 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $817,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in Progressive in the third quarter worth approximately $8,935,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 56.8% in the 3rd quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 32,883 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,344,000 after buying an additional 11,913 shares during the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $592,000. Finally, Caprock Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 14,547 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,691,000 after acquiring an additional 995 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $153.24 billion, a PE ratio of 18.96, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.36. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $251.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $227.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $19.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.95 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 11.27% and a return on equity of 33.10%. Equities research analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 13.14 EPS for the current year.

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.