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

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $276.12.

A number of research firms have commented on PGR. StockNews.com raised shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $261.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Raymond James raised Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 26th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $164,870.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,137,465.20. The trade was a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 3,855 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.06, for a total transaction of $952,416.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 39,040 shares in the company, valued at $9,645,222.40. This represents a 8.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 56,361 shares of company stock valued at $13,983,575. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC lifted its holdings in Progressive by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $885,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Progressive by 20.9% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 237 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 54.7% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC boosted its position in Progressive by 16.5% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 296 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Washington Trust Bank grew its stake in Progressive by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 1,066 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $267.83 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The business’s 50 day moving average is $246.61 and its 200 day moving average is $248.49. The stock has a market cap of $156.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.42. Progressive has a 52-week low of $186.94 and a 52-week high of $270.79.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. Sell-side analysts predict that Progressive will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.78%.

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.