The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nineteen research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $257.18.

Several research firms have issued reports on PGR. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Progressive from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $281.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. 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 research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Progressive from $232.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $253.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 12th.

Progressive Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $251.10 on Tuesday. Progressive has a 52-week low of $137.59 and a 52-week high of $260.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.70, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $237.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $219.27.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.54 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The firm’s revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.57 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Progressive will post 12.9 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 2,982 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $775,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,626,840. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Progressive news, Director Philip Bleser sold 2,129 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.08, for a total value of $466,421.32. Following the sale, the director now owns 974 shares in the company, valued at $213,383.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 2,982 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $775,320.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 29,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,626,840. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 144,332 shares of company stock valued at $33,362,904. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Progressive by 237.8% during the fourth quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,485,750 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $236,650,000 after acquiring an additional 1,045,883 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Progressive by 4,545.0% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 705,243 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $145,858,000 after purchasing an additional 690,060 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in Progressive by 548.2% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 811,653 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $167,866,000 after purchasing an additional 686,433 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Progressive by 15.7% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,925,019 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,018,592,000 after purchasing an additional 670,006 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new position in Progressive in the first quarter worth about $116,852,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

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.