Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Given New $301.38 Price Target at Citigroup

Key Points

• Citigroup has lowered its price target for Progressive (NYSE:PGR) from $312.00 to $301.38, while maintaining a "buy" rating, indicating a potential upside of 33.14% from the stock's current price.
• Despite the positive outlook from Citigroup, Progressive missed analysts' consensus earnings estimates for the last quarter, reporting an EPS of $4.45, falling short of the expected $5.04.
• Shares of Progressive opened at $226.36 on Thursday, with the company experiencing a 5.8% decline in stock price recently and an average rating of "Hold" among analysts.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by equities researchers at Citigroup from $312.00 to $301.38 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the insurance provider's stock. Citigroup's price objective points to a potential upside of 33.14% from the stock's current price.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on PGR. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays set a $271.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $265.00 to $266.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Progressive in a report on Monday, September 15th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $268.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Progressive currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $279.02.

Progressive Trading Down 5.8%

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $226.36 on Thursday. Progressive has a 1-year low of $217.20 and a 1-year high of $292.99. The company has a market cap of $132.70 billion, a PE ratio of 12.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a 50-day moving average of $244.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $258.89.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.04 by ($0.59). Progressive had a return on equity of 35.37% and a net margin of 12.66%.The business had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.58 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Progressive will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 16,664 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $4,153,335.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 228,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,832,701.76. The trade was a 6.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,420 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 19th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $3,679,806.24. This represents a 29.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 130,045 shares of company stock valued at $31,997,390. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its position in Progressive by 7.4% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 521 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $147,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 2.1% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,927 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $545,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 13.4% in the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 338 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. True North Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 4.0% in the first quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GenTrust LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 3.5% in the first quarter. GenTrust LLC now owns 1,234 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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