William Blair Has Optimistic View of Progressive Q4 Earnings

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) – Equities researchers at William Blair upped their Q4 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Progressive in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, October 15th. William Blair analyst A. Klauber now forecasts that the insurance provider will post earnings of $3.95 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $3.93. The consensus estimate for Progressive’s current full-year earnings is $13.07 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Progressive’s Q2 2025 earnings at $3.20 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $3.37 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $15.17 EPS.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Progressive from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Progressive from $281.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Progressive from $250.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $268.19.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $251.34 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.21 billion, a PE ratio of 25.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 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 fifty day moving average price of $248.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $223.76. Progressive has a fifty-two week low of $149.14 and a fifty-two week high of $260.46.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.54 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 10.17%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.57 EPS.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its stake in Progressive by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 63,975 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $16,235,000 after buying an additional 3,852 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Progressive during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $531,000. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Progressive by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,828 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,733,000 after buying an additional 693 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC raised its stake in Progressive by 486.0% during the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 7,964 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,021,000 after buying an additional 6,605 shares during the period. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake in Progressive by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 10,731 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,723,000 after buying an additional 840 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total value of $9,281,827.71. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 517,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $110,665,641.05. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total transaction of $9,281,827.71. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 517,105 shares in the company, valued at $110,665,641.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,180 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.28, for a total value of $549,970.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,462,038.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 144,383 shares of company stock worth $33,446,453. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.09%.

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.