The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) saw a significant decline in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,280,000 shares, a decline of 16.2% from the October 31st total of 5,110,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,280,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PGR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Progressive from $250.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $267.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $242.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $269.81.

Progressive Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE:PGR opened at $268.93 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $254.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $233.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Progressive has a 12-month low of $149.14 and a 12-month high of $270.62.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $19.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.95 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 11.27%. Equities research analysts expect that Progressive will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Steven Broz sold 2,982 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,334 shares in the company, valued at $7,626,840. The trade was a 9.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.20, for a total transaction of $10,937,914.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $119,475,967. The trade was a 8.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 59,209 shares of company stock valued at $14,975,979. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,683,807 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,263,763,000 after buying an additional 315,411 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 13.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,425,792 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,652,235,000 after acquiring an additional 1,682,213 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,518,615 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,669,204,000 after acquiring an additional 170,618 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 7.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,067,924 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,286,036,000 after acquiring an additional 330,667 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Progressive by 1.9% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,922,743 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,022,507,000 after purchasing an additional 92,212 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Company Profile

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.