The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Receives $275.65 Average Price Target from Brokerages

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $275.94.

PGR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Hsbc Global Res cut Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $242.22 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $251.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $240.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. Progressive has a 1 year low of $161.56 and a 1 year high of $270.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $141.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.41.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.95 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 11.27%. As a group, research analysts predict that Progressive will post 13.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.91%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.09, for a total value of $2,680,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 292,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,539,110.22. This represents a 3.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 shares were sold at an average price of $251.15, for a total transaction of $748,678.15. Following 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 22,981 shares of company stock valued at $5,816,178. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Davis Capital Management purchased a new stake in Progressive during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 114.1% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the second quarter worth $36,000. Sachetta LLC raised its holdings in Progressive by 34.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 209 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in Progressive during the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.