Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Stock Price Expected to Rise, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Analyst Says

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its price target boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $251.00 to $256.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays raised their target price on Progressive from $267.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com raised Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Progressive from $299.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Progressive has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.94.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR stock opened at $242.22 on Friday. Progressive has a 12-month low of $161.56 and a 12-month high of $270.62. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $251.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $239.85. 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 market cap of $141.90 billion, a PE ratio of 17.60, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.38.

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

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.09, for a total transaction of $2,680,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 292,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,539,110.22. This trade represents a 3.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 2,981 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The shares were 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 directly owns 26,353 shares in the company, valued at $6,618,555.95. This trade represents a 10.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 22,981 shares of company stock worth $5,816,178. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 25,520 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,115,000 after acquiring an additional 4,670 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,734 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,853,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Progressive by 98.2% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 789 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $189,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the period. SMART Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive during the third quarter worth approximately $295,000. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the third quarter worth about $458,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.