Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Sets New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday after TD Cowen raised their price target on the stock from $197.00 to $237.00. TD Cowen currently has a hold rating on the stock. Progressive traded as high as $262.85 and last traded at $262.32, with a volume of 318050 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $255.27.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on PGR. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Progressive from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $250.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Progressive from $239.00 to $237.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Progressive has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $269.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,180 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were 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 $3,462,038.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Progressive news, 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 transaction 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 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.28, for a total value of $549,970.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,462,038.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 74,843 shares of company stock valued at $18,674,912. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PGR. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Progressive by 66.4% in the 1st quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,814 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,409,000 after purchasing an additional 2,719 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 84.3% in the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 25,738 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,531,000 after buying an additional 11,770 shares in the last quarter. Councilmark Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,890,000. Sycomore Asset Management lifted its position in Progressive by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sycomore Asset Management now owns 28,128 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,856,000 after acquiring an additional 2,450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. purchased a new position in Progressive in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $981,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $251.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $228.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The company has a market cap of $153.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.36.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $19.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.95 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 13.14 EPS for the current year.

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.