Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.13 EPS

Key Points

• Progressive beat EPS expectations — reported $4.80 EPS vs. a $4.67 consensus (beat by $0.13), but revenue missed at $22.19 billion versus the $23.51 billion estimate.
• Market reaction and valuation — shares traded down about 1.5% after the release; the company has a market cap of roughly $115 billion and a PE ratio of 10.22, with a Wall Street consensus rating of "Hold" and a $237.50 target.
• Dividend and insider activity — Progressive paid a $0.10 quarterly dividend (annualized $0.40, ~0.2% yield), and insiders have sold 11,687 shares in the past 90 days (insiders own 0.32% of the stock).

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.13, FiscalAI reports. Progressive had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 33.72%. The firm had revenue of $22.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.51 billion.

Progressive Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $196.57 on Wednesday. Progressive has a 1-year low of $192.02 and a 1-year high of $289.96. The company has a market cap of $114.99 billion, a PE ratio of 10.22, a P/E/G ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a 50-day moving average of $203.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $215.38.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive's payout ratio is currently 2.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PGR. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Progressive from $216.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Mizuho cut their price target 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. HSBC cut shares of Progressive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Progressive from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $218.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Progressive currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $237.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Progressive news, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.50, for a total value of $55,755.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 558 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $115,227. The trade was a 32.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 3,517 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.00, for a total transaction of $745,604.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 32,348 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,857,776. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,687 shares of company stock valued at $2,413,044. Insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bison Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $615,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $269,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $813,000 after buying an additional 457 shares during the period. DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $231,000. Finally, EFG International AG acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $225,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company's stock.

About Progressive

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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