The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-one brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have issued a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $268.9047.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $214.00 price target on Progressive and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Progressive from $266.00 to $246.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Progressive from $275.00 to $273.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 21st. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Progressive from $271.00 to $257.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 20th.

Progressive Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $211.75 on Wednesday. Progressive has a 12-month low of $211.53 and a 12-month high of $292.99. The company has a market capitalization of $124.13 billion, a PE ratio of 11.62, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.32. The business has a 50 day moving average of $239.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $255.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

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

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 2nd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.19%.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,420 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.22, for a total value of $1,555,052.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,679,806.24. This represents a 29.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,345 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $325,624.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,356,934.80. This represents a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 58,500 shares of company stock worth $14,430,089 in the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Davis Capital Management acquired a new position in Progressive in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in Progressive in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.