BMO Capital Markets Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Stock Price

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its price objective cut by equities researchers at BMO Capital Markets from $220.00 to $205.00 in a research note issued on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has a “market perform” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price target would indicate a potential downside of 1.31% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on PGR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Progressive from $231.00 to $226.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Evercore set a $240.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a report on Friday, July 10th. HSBC increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $214.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Barclays set a $247.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $235.05.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $207.73 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.42, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.26. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $208.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $206.50. Progressive has a 12 month low of $189.20 and a 12 month high of $254.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.13. Progressive had a return on equity of 32.92% and a net margin of 12.84%.The firm had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.37 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Progressive will post 17.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.33, for a total value of $1,514,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 22,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,877,376.18. This trade represents a 23.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 5,916 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,183,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 41,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,258,000. This represents a 12.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 15,230 shares of company stock valued at $3,165,817 in the last three months. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Progressive by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $813,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $269,000. Bison Wealth LLC raised its position in Progressive by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $615,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. HUB Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,282 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $609,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,146 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,681,000 after purchasing an additional 1,622 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Progressive

Here are the key news stories impacting Progressive this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reuters reported that Progressive’s quarterly profit rose on higher auto insurance demand, reinforcing the view that core underwriting and pricing trends remain healthy. Progressive’s quarterly profit rises on higher auto insurance demand
• Positive Sentiment: Some commentary remains constructive after Q2, noting that Progressive continues to grow policies and remains a leading property and casualty insurer, which may help investor confidence. Progressive Is The P&C Insurer To Hold, After Policies Grow In Q2
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target to $308 and kept a buy rating, signaling optimism even though the target was trimmed slightly from prior levels. Progressive Given New $308.00 Price Target at Bank of America
• Neutral Sentiment: Other analysts also reduced their forecasts after the mixed Q2 report, but several still view the shares as fairly valued to modestly attractive from current levels. Progressive Analysts Slash Their Forecasts After Q2 Results
• Negative Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets cut its price target to $205 and kept a market perform rating, reflecting a more cautious stance following the earnings release. BMO Capital Markets price target cut
• Negative Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods also lowered its target to $226 and maintained a market perform rating, adding to the post-earnings analyst headwinds. KBW price target cut

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.