Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on PGR. HSBC raised shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $253.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. 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. Hsbc Global Res raised Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $269.81.

Progressive Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:PGR opened at $256.56 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $252.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $230.44. 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 $149.14 and a fifty-two week high of $263.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $150.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.36.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $19.43 billion during 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Progressive will post 13.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 2,981 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.15, for a total transaction of $748,678.15. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,353 shares in the company, valued at $6,618,555.95. The trade was a 10.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,370 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.20, for a total value of $10,937,914.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $119,475,967. This represents a 8.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 59,209 shares of company stock worth $14,975,979. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new stake in Progressive during the first quarter worth about $568,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 19.8% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 14,940 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,090,000 after acquiring an additional 2,467 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter worth approximately $76,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Progressive in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Finally, Wellington Wealth Strategies LLC. purchased a new stake in Progressive in the first quarter valued at approximately $297,000. 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.