Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Progressive (NYSE:PGR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on PGR. HSBC upgraded shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $253.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $242.00 to $251.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $269.81.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR opened at $254.51 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $149.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.50, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.36. Progressive has a 12-month low of $149.14 and a 12-month high of $263.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a 50-day moving average of $252.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $230.76.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Progressive had a net margin of 11.27% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The company had revenue of $19.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.95 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Progressive will post 13.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 7,696 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.21, for a total transaction of $1,964,096.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,189 shares in the company, valued at $3,876,384.69. This trade represents a 33.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 2,981 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.15, for a total value of $748,678.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 26,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,618,555.95. The trade was a 10.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 59,209 shares of company stock valued at $14,975,979 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 worth $3,652,235,000 after purchasing an additional 1,682,213 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Progressive by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,749,628 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,205,266,000 after buying an additional 842,109 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in shares of Progressive by 548.2% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 811,653 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $167,866,000 after acquiring an additional 686,433 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in Progressive by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,925,019 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,018,592,000 after buying an additional 670,006 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 75.3% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,494,084 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $379,139,000 after purchasing an additional 641,943 shares in the last quarter. 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.