Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

PGR has been the topic of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $302.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Progressive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.71.

Progressive Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of PGR traded up $0.99 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $248.99. The company had a trading volume of 1,508,478 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,567,690. Progressive has a 1 year low of $179.90 and a 1 year high of $270.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $145.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.31. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $246.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $245.29.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) 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 33.79%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Progressive will post 14.4 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 3,855 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.06, for a total transaction of $952,416.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 39,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,645,222.40. This represents a 8.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 11,021 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total value of $2,681,299.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $115,255,231.44. This represents a 2.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,361 shares of company stock valued at $13,983,575 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Progressive by 20.9% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 237 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 54.7% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 296 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp raised its position in shares of Progressive by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 1,602 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $384,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Monument Capital Management boosted its holdings in Progressive by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 13,762 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,298,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.