Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Earns "Neutral" Rating from JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a Neutral rating on Progressive and set a $250 price target, implying about 6.45% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment on Progressive is mixed but generally cautious: the stock has five Buy ratings, 14 Hold ratings, and three Sell ratings, with a consensus Hold and an average target of $236.74.
• Progressive recently reported Q1 earnings of $4.80 per share, beating estimates, while revenue rose 6.5% year over year; however, insiders have also sold shares recently, including director Jeffrey D. Kelly and insider John Jo Murphy.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "neutral" rating reiterated by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $250.00 price objective on the insurance provider's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target suggests a potential upside of 6.45% from the stock's previous close.

Several other brokerages have also commented on PGR. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Progressive from $216.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Progressive from $210.00 to $231.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Evercore set a $240.00 target price on Progressive in a research report on Friday. Mizuho boosted their price target on Progressive from $217.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $236.74.

Progressive Price Performance

PGR opened at $234.84 on Tuesday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $207.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $206.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $137.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.94, a P/E/G ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.26. Progressive has a 52-week low of $189.20 and a 52-week high of $254.93.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.13. Progressive had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 33.47%. The firm had revenue of $22.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.37 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Progressive will post 17.3 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.33, for a total transaction of $1,514,310.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 22,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,877,376.18. The trade was a 23.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 5,916 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,183,200.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 41,290 shares in the company, valued at $8,258,000. The trade was a 12.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,230 shares of company stock worth $3,165,817. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Dagco Inc. bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 235.1% during the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Progressive by 700.0% in the 1st quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 144 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

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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