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

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six equities research 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 analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $268.81.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PGR. StockNews.com lowered shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $319.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective 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. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $253.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th.

Progressive Stock Performance

Progressive stock opened at $251.08 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $248.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $224.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. Progressive has a fifty-two week low of $149.14 and a fifty-two week high of $260.46. The company has a market capitalization of $147.05 billion, a PE ratio of 21.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Progressive had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.57 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Progressive will post 12.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.42%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,180 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.28, for a total transaction of $549,970.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,462,038.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were 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 directly owns 517,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $110,665,641.05. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,180 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.28, for a total transaction of $549,970.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,462,038.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 144,383 shares of company stock valued at $33,446,453 over the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its position in Progressive by 21.3% during the second quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 262 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in Progressive by 11.8% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 455 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its position in Progressive by 10.4% during the second quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 509 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC lifted its position in Progressive by 1.2% during the second quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,202 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $873,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Progressive by 0.3% during the third quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 18,556 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,709,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.