Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on PGR. Barclays boosted their price target on Progressive from $285.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Bank of America upgraded Progressive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $312.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group upped their target price on Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Progressive from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $287.65.

Progressive Stock Performance

PGR stock opened at $278.33 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Progressive has a 1-year low of $201.34 and a 1-year high of $292.99. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $275.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $261.00. The firm has a market cap of $163.16 billion, a PE ratio of 19.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.28 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.87 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Progressive will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.94, for a total value of $2,799,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 269,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,462,306.04. This trade represents a 3.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 360 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total value of $99,421.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,891.35. The trade was a 35.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 39,894 shares of company stock worth $11,020,097. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Integrated Advisors Network LLC grew its position in Progressive by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 3,808 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Progressive by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,287 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $335,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Progressive by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,940 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $549,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Financial Group grew its holdings in Progressive by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Beacon Financial Group now owns 3,659 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,036,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Progressive by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,927 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $545,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.