The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-two brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have given a hold recommendation, seven have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $260.7412.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Progressive from $301.38 to $300.60 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Zacks Research cut Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $227.00 target price on Progressive in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays upgraded Progressive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $257.00 to $265.00 in a report on Thursday.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.48, for a total value of $1,142,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 223,024 shares in the company, valued at $50,956,523.52. This trade represents a 2.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,344 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.80, for a total transaction of $302,131.20. Following the transaction, the insider owned 26,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,924,379.20. The trade was a 4.85% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 9,034 shares of company stock valued at $2,047,481. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Progressive by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $813,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at $269,000. Bison Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $615,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 37.5% during the 2nd quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,695 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $452,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the period. Finally, TrueWealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 14.5% during the 2nd quarter. TrueWealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,543 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $678,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $214.97 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $223.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $235.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. Progressive has a 52 week low of $199.90 and a 52 week high of $292.99. The firm has a market cap of $126.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.34.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its 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 return on equity of 33.88% and a net margin of 12.57%.The company had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.58 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Progressive will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.19%.

Progressive Company Profile

Progressive Corporation is a large U.S.-based property and casualty insurer that primarily underwrites personal auto insurance along with a broad suite of related products. Its offerings include coverage for private passenger automobiles, commercial auto fleets, motorcycles, boats and recreational vehicles, as well as homeowners, renters, umbrella and other specialty P&C products. Progressive also provides claims handling, risk management and related services to individual and commercial policyholders.

The company distributes its products through a mix of direct channels—online and by phone—and an extensive independent agent network.