Jefferies Financial Group Cuts Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Price Target to $287.00

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group has reduced its price target for Progressive (NYSE:PGR) from $309.00 to $287.00, while maintaining a "buy" rating for the stock.
• Other analysts, including Morgan Stanley and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, have also lowered their price targets for Progressive, reflecting cautious sentiment in the market.
• Despite the downward revisions, Progressive's stock has shown potential for a 16.43% upside based on the new price target compared to its previous close.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) had its price objective dropped by Jefferies Financial Group from $309.00 to $287.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the insurance provider's stock. Jefferies Financial Group's price target would indicate a potential upside of 16.43% from the company's previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $268.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $337.00 to $336.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Progressive from $280.00 to $268.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $284.88.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE:PGR opened at $246.49 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $256.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $266.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market cap of $144.49 billion, a PE ratio of 13.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.33. Progressive has a 1-year low of $217.91 and a 1-year high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.45. Progressive had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 35.37%. The business had revenue of $20.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.48 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Progressive will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,660 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.12, for a total value of $7,423,399.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 506,945 shares in the company, valued at $122,741,523.40. This trade represents a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.38, for a total transaction of $1,041,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 41,289 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,750,829.82. The trade was a 8.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 104,250 shares of company stock valued at $26,332,348. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 2.7% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 68,644 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $19,426,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 36.4% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 126,826 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $35,893,000 after purchasing an additional 33,864 shares in the last quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 498.5% in the first quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 5,057 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,431,000 after purchasing an additional 4,212 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the first quarter worth approximately $3,141,000. Finally, TCW Group Inc. raised its position in Progressive by 4.5% during the first quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 12,034 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,406,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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