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

Key Points

• Bank of America has raised its target price for Progressive (NYSE:PGR) stock from $350 to $351, indicating a potential upside of 55.06% from the current price.
• Despite this positive forecast, other analysts have rated Progressive with mixed sentiments, including several "hold" ratings and target prices varying from $261 to $309.
• Progressive's recent earnings report revealed an earnings per share (EPS) of $4.45, which missed analysts' expectations of $5.04, alongside a revenue of $21.38 billion.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by research analysts at Bank of America from $350.00 to $351.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the insurance provider's stock. Bank of America's target price would indicate a potential upside of 55.06% from the company's current price.

PGR has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Zacks Research cut shares of Progressive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Progressive from $309.00 to $287.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 11th. BMO Capital Markets set a $252.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a report on Thursday, September 18th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Progressive from $268.00 to $261.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Friday, August 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $279.69.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of PGR opened at $226.36 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $132.70 billion, a PE ratio of 12.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. Progressive has a fifty-two week low of $217.20 and a fifty-two week high of $292.99. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $244.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $258.89.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.04 by ($0.59). The business had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.64 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 35.37% and a net margin of 12.66%.During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.58 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Progressive will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 8,063 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.18, for a total value of $2,017,201.34. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 39,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,767,027.20. This trade represents a 17.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,420 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 15,192 shares in the company, valued at $3,679,806.24. The trade was a 29.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 130,045 shares of company stock valued at $31,997,390 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. TrueWealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Progressive by 41.0% in the third quarter. TrueWealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,585 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $885,000 after acquiring an additional 1,042 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its position in Progressive by 25.1% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 44,126 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $10,897,000 after acquiring an additional 8,841 shares during the period. SFM LLC raised its position in Progressive by 10.8% in the third quarter. SFM LLC now owns 1,083 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $267,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in Progressive by 8.5% in the third quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 197,021 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $48,654,000 after acquiring an additional 15,451 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Progressive by 2.8% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 11,475 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,834,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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