Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Cut to “Hold” at HSBC

HSBC downgraded shares of Progressive (NYSE:PGRFree Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $267.00 target price on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on PGR. StockNews.com upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $281.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $270.69.

View Our Latest Research Report on Progressive

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE PGR opened at $242.78 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $142.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $254.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $236.18. Progressive has a twelve month low of $149.14 and a twelve month high of $270.62.

Progressive (NYSE:PGRGet Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $19.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.95 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 11.27%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Progressive will post 13.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 9th. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.91%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 7,696 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.21, for a total value of $1,964,096.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,876,384.69. This represents a 33.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 2,982 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $775,320.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,626,840. This trade represents a 9.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 25,839 shares of company stock valued at $6,718,965. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Progressive by 20.9% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 237 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 296 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Castleview Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,712 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $434,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 1,024 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Progressive by 21.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 262 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

Analyst Recommendations for Progressive (NYSE:PGR)

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