Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy” Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Progressive (NYSE:PGR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Thursday morning.

PGR has been the topic of several other research reports. Hsbc Global Res lowered Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 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 note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $302.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.71.

Progressive Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE PGR opened at $262.02 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $244.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $246.64. Progressive has a 12 month low of $182.23 and a 12 month high of $270.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The company has a market capitalization of $153.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.42.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Progressive will post 14.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.09, for a total value of $2,680,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 292,958 shares in the company, valued at $78,539,110.22. This trade represents a 3.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $164,870.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,612 shares in the company, valued at $8,137,465.20. The trade was a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 56,361 shares of company stock worth $13,983,575. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Progressive by 54.7% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.