The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eighteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $275.71.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on PGR shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Hsbc Global Res cut Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $302.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 9,066 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $2,194,878.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,736 shares in the company, valued at $114,691,485.60. This trade represents a 1.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 3,855 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.06, for a total transaction of $952,416.30. Following the sale, the insider now owns 39,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,645,222.40. The trade was a 8.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 56,361 shares of company stock worth $13,983,575. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Davis Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Progressive by 54.7% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 3,000.0% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Down 1.0 %

Progressive stock opened at $246.78 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $144.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.14, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. Progressive has a fifty-two week low of $176.37 and a fifty-two week high of $270.62. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $247.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $244.30.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 34.32%. Equities research analysts expect that Progressive will post 14.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.78%.

Progressive Company Profile

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.