Bank of America Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Stock Price

Key Points

• Bank of America trimmed its price target on Progressive to $348 (from $350) but maintained a "buy" rating, implying a potential upside of 54.47% from the prior close.
• Market consensus is a Hold with an average target of $266.40; Progressive recently missed quarterly EPS (reported $4.45 vs. $5.04 expected) and trades near $225 with a P/E of 12.36.
• Insiders have been net sellers (17,673 shares, ≈$4.16M last quarter), while large institutions have been adding positions, resulting in 85.34% institutional ownership.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by equities researchers at Bank of America from $350.00 to $348.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the insurance provider's stock. Bank of America's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 54.47% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on PGR. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Progressive from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Progressive from $271.00 to $257.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Progressive from $312.00 to $301.38 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. UBS Group cut their price target on Progressive from $268.00 to $261.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $261.00 to $232.00 in a research note on Friday, November 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $266.40.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR traded up $2.12 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $225.28. The stock had a trading volume of 1,064,751 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,249,755. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $225.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $243.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $132.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Progressive has a 12-month low of $199.90 and a 12-month high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.04 by ($0.59). The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.64 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 33.88%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.58 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Progressive will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,420 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.22, for a total transaction of $1,555,052.40. Following the transaction, the insider owned 15,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,679,806.24. The trade was a 29.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 5,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 223,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $50,956,523.52. This represents a 2.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,673 shares of company stock worth $4,163,005. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Progressive in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,156,939,000. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Progressive by 78.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,704,197 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,384,082,000 after buying an additional 6,045,732 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 61.4% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 8,346,133 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,362,039,000 after purchasing an additional 3,174,632 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in Progressive by 32.8% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 10,972,574 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,928,141,000 after buying an additional 2,709,417 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 26.1% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,167,940 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,757,905,000 after purchasing an additional 2,314,864 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

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.

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