Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.08 EPS

Key Points

• Progressive reported quarterly earnings of $4.45 EPS, missing estimates by $0.08 EPS, with revenue of $21.38 billion, below the expected $21.64 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, which represents an annualized yield of 0.2%.
• Progressive's stock analysts have varied opinions, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a price target averaging $279.63.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The insurance provider reported $4.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.53 by ($0.08), RTT News reports. The company had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.64 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 35.37%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.58 earnings per share.

Progressive Price Performance

NYSE:PGR opened at $240.54 on Wednesday. Progressive has a 52 week low of $228.54 and a 52 week high of $292.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market capitalization of $141.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.32. The stock's fifty day moving average is $245.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $259.11.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive's payout ratio is currently 2.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,345 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $325,624.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 30,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,356,934.80. The trade was a 4.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,420 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.22, for a total value of $1,555,052.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 15,192 shares in the company, valued at $3,679,806.24. This represents a 29.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 130,045 shares of company stock valued at $31,997,390. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PGR. Man Group plc raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 102.5% in the 2nd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 512,867 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $136,864,000 after buying an additional 259,566 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 32.3% during the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 423,533 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $113,024,000 after acquiring an additional 103,422 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 61.2% during the 2nd quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 188,747 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $50,369,000 after acquiring an additional 71,675 shares in the last quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 182.7% during the 2nd quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 107,431 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $28,669,000 after acquiring an additional 69,432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 227.7% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 86,347 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $23,043,000 after purchasing an additional 60,001 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on PGR. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Progressive from $268.00 to $261.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, September 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Progressive from $301.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Zacks Research lowered Progressive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised Progressive to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Progressive has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $279.63.

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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