Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Positive Forecast for Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Stock Price

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its price target lifted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $268.00 to $270.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a market perform rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Progressive from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $265.00 target price (down previously from $327.00) on shares of Progressive in a report on Thursday. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Progressive from $347.00 to $343.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Progressive from $287.00 to $281.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Progressive presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $279.44.

Progressive Price Performance

Progressive stock opened at $241.93 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $245.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $263.75. The stock has a market cap of $141.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.32. Progressive has a 12-month low of $228.54 and a 12-month high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.45. Progressive had a return on equity of 35.37% and a net margin of 12.66%.The company had revenue of $20.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.39 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.48 earnings per share. Progressive’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Progressive will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 8,063 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.18, for a total value of $2,017,201.34. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 39,040 shares in the company, valued at $9,767,027.20. This trade represents a 17.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.78, for a total transaction of $556,230.04. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 45,724 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,466,664.72. The trade was a 4.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 130,062 shares of company stock valued at $32,217,635 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Progressive by 114.0% in the 1st quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its position in Progressive by 210.0% in the 1st quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 93 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in Progressive during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 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.