Burford Brothers Inc. Takes Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Burford Brothers Inc. opened a new position in Progressive during the first quarter, buying 6,816 shares worth about $1.35 million.
• Progressive’s latest quarterly results beat earnings expectations, reporting $4.80 EPS versus $4.67 expected, though revenue came in below estimates at $22.19 billion.
• Analysts remain cautious overall: the stock’s consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $237.37, while several recent price targets were trimmed.

Burford Brothers Inc. bought a new position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,816 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,351,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Dagco Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. acquired a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 700.0% during the first quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 144 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 106.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 126 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PGR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $216.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Progressive from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Progressive from $235.00 to $223.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Progressive from $208.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $237.37.

Progressive Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE PGR opened at $231.75 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $203.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $206.81. The Progressive Corporation has a 12 month low of $189.20 and a 12 month high of $261.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $135.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.78, a PEG ratio of 7.03 and a beta of 0.26.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.13. Progressive had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 33.47%. The company had revenue of $22.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.37 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. Progressive's payout ratio is currently 2.03%.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,157 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.76, for a total transaction of $236,907.32. Following the transaction, the insider owned 27,511 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,633,152.36. This trade represents a 4.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.33, for a total transaction of $1,514,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 22,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,877,376.18. The trade was a 23.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 15,230 shares of company stock worth $3,165,817. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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