The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $224.18.

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $216.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $276.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $243.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other news, Director Philip Bleser sold 2,129 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.08, for a total value of $466,421.32. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 974 shares in the company, valued at $213,383.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 22,708 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total value of $4,859,739.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 302,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,836,041.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Philip Bleser sold 2,129 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.08, for a total value of $466,421.32. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,383.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 108,168 shares of company stock valued at $22,937,984 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its position in shares of Progressive by 11.8% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 455 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its stake in Progressive by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 509 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC raised its holdings in Progressive by 1.2% during the second quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,202 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $873,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. City State Bank increased its position in Progressive by 8.2% during the second quarter. City State Bank now owns 661 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $137,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, GYL Financial Synergies LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 4.0% in the second quarter. GYL Financial Synergies LLC now owns 1,302 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE PGR traded up $3.37 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $221.73. 1,726,476 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,567,149. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $212.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $204.25. Progressive has a 52 week low of $124.06 and a 52 week high of $229.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.54 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 10.17%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.57 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Progressive will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.18%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 3rd. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 4.09%.

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.