DOWLING & PARTN Predicts Increased Earnings for Progressive

Key Points

• DOWLING & PARTN raised Progressive’s FY2026 EPS forecast to $18.50 from $18.25, above the $18.03 analyst consensus.
• Progressive’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with EPS of $5.67 versus the $4.64 consensus and revenue of $23.61 billion, up 5% year over year.
• The stock opened at $218.82, while analysts maintained a consensus “Hold” rating and a $235.11 target price; institutional investors own 85.34% of shares.

The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) - Stock analysts at DOWLING & PARTN raised their FY2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Progressive in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, October 7th. DOWLING & PARTN analyst D. Lukpanov now forecasts that the insurance provider will post earnings of $18.50 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $18.25. The consensus estimate for Progressive's current full-year earnings is $18.03 per share.

PGR has been the topic of a number of other reports. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Progressive from $313.00 to $308.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $241.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. William Blair reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Progressive from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $190.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a report on Friday, September 18th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $235.11.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $218.82 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $214.17 and a 200 day moving average of $208.86. Progressive has a 52 week low of $189.20 and a 52 week high of $245.64. The company has a market cap of $127.21 billion, a PE ratio of 10.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The insurance provider reported $5.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.64 by $1.03. Progressive had a return on equity of 32.92% and a net margin of 12.84%.The business had revenue of $23.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.40 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.01%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Andrew Quigg sold 3,499 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $769,780.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 42,595 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,370,900. The trade was a 7.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider John Murphy sold 8,124 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.70, for a total value of $1,727,974.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 41,291 shares in the company, valued at $8,782,595.70. The trade was a 16.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 106,782 shares of company stock valued at $22,965,332. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Progressive in the 2nd quarter worth about $10,496,271,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in Progressive by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,526,959 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $5,794,814,000 after purchasing an additional 656,249 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Progressive in the second quarter worth about $2,682,342,000. GQG Partners LLC purchased a new position in Progressive in the second quarter worth about $1,538,570,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 6.4% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,784,205 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,482,010,000 after buying an additional 410,326 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Progressive

Progressive Corporation is an insurance holding company that provides personal and commercial insurance products in the United States. Its primary business is automobile insurance, serving consumers through direct channels, independent agents and other distribution partners.

The company offers coverage for personal vehicles, motorcycles, recreational vehicles, boats and other specialty vehicles. Its personal insurance portfolio also includes homeowners, renters, condominium and other property coverage, while its commercial business provides insurance for commercial vehicles and related risks.

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