Raymond James Upgrades Progressive (NYSE:PGR) to Outperform

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) was upgraded by analysts at Raymond James from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note issued on Thursday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage currently has a $305.00 price objective on the insurance provider’s stock. Raymond James’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 25.39% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. HSBC lowered Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Hsbc Global Res lowered Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Progressive from $242.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.65.

Progressive Stock Up 0.9 %

PGR opened at $243.24 on Thursday. Progressive has a one year low of $156.06 and a one year high of $270.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $252.61 and its 200-day moving average is $238.63. The company has a market capitalization of $142.49 billion, a PE ratio of 17.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.38.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $19.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.95 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 11.27%. On average, equities analysts predict that Progressive will post 13.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,180 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.28, for a total transaction of $549,970.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,462,038.44. The trade was a 13.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 2,981 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.15, for a total value of $748,678.15. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,618,555.95. This represents a 10.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 15,161 shares of company stock worth $3,979,549. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Whittier Trust Co. raised its holdings in Progressive by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 4,262 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $885,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 455 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its position in Progressive by 23.4% during the 2nd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 1,519 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Progressive by 74.9% during the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,906 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,227,000 after acquiring an additional 2,530 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KCM Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Progressive by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,639 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $340,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.