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

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its price target decreased by equities research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $270.00 to $262.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “market perform” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price suggests a potential upside of 16.15% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Progressive from $309.00 to $287.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Progressive to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Zacks Research lowered Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Progressive from $266.00 to $246.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $274.46.

Progressive Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $225.57 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $132.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.37, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.32. Progressive has a 52-week low of $217.20 and a 52-week high of $292.99. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $243.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $258.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.32.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.04 by ($0.59). Progressive had a return on equity of 33.88% and a net margin of 12.57%.The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.58 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Progressive will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 8,063 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.18, for a total transaction of $2,017,201.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 39,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,767,027.20. This represents a 17.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,922 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $2,223,719.28. Following the sale, the insider owned 32,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,061,917.04. This trade represents a 21.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 128,778 shares of company stock worth $31,683,756 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PGR. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 210.0% during 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 during the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Progressive in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new stake in Progressive during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new stake in Progressive during the first quarter valued at about $35,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.