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

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $257.18.

Several analysts have issued reports on PGR shares. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Progressive from $250.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Progressive from $239.00 to $237.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Progressive from $232.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Progressive from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Progressive from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th.

Progressive Stock Down 0.6 %

Progressive stock opened at $257.60 on Tuesday. Progressive has a 12 month low of $137.59 and a 12 month high of $260.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $150.88 billion, a PE ratio of 26.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $234.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $217.84.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.54 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Progressive will post 12.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s payout ratio is 4.09%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.40, for a total value of $2,104,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 302,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,742,363.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.40, for a total transaction of $2,104,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 302,958 shares in the company, valued at $63,742,363.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total value of $9,281,827.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 517,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $110,665,641.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 151,350 shares of company stock valued at $34,691,584 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its position in shares of Progressive by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 2,938 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $468,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,534 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $404,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at about $307,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $150,000. Finally, Congress Wealth Management LLC DE acquired a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $379,000. 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.