Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Stock

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its price target lifted by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $302.00 to $313.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 26.83% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on PGR. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com raised Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.71.

Progressive Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $246.78 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $247.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $244.30. Progressive has a 12-month low of $176.37 and a 12-month high of $270.62. The company has a market capitalization of $144.57 billion, a PE ratio of 17.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.41.

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

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.09, for a total transaction of $2,680,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 292,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $78,539,110.22. The trade was a 3.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $164,870.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Progressive by 21.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 262 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 19.8% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,892 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $393,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 1.8% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 68,273 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $14,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,199 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Progressive by 5.5% in the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $212,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Davis Capital Management acquired a new stake in Progressive during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.