Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Price Target Raised to $252.00 at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target on Progressive (PGR) to $252.00 from $250.00 while keeping a "market perform" rating, implying about a 17.75% upside from the prior close.
• Across analysts, the breakdown is one Strong Buy, six Buy, thirteen Hold and two Sell, leaving a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $265.09.
• Progressive traded at $214.01 (market cap ~$125.5B) with a P/E of 11.74, and its most recent quarter showed an earnings miss—$4.45 EPS versus a $5.04 consensus estimate.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $250.00 to $252.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "market perform" rating on the insurance provider's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price objective would indicate a potential upside of 17.75% from the stock's previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Wolfe Research started coverage on Progressive in a research report on Monday, September 15th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $271.00 to $257.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Progressive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Progressive from $242.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $305.00 to $265.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $265.09.

Progressive Stock Up 0.5%

PGR stock traded up $1.09 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $214.01. The company had a trading volume of 1,291,110 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,823,422. The company has a market capitalization of $125.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.74, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.34. Progressive has a 1 year low of $199.90 and a 1 year high of $292.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a 50 day moving average of $222.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $237.22.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.04 by ($0.59). The business had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.64 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.88% and a net margin of 12.57%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.58 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Progressive will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.48, for a total value of $1,142,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 223,024 shares in the company, valued at $50,956,523.52. This represents a 2.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,345 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.29, for a total value of $307,050.05. Following the transaction, the insider owned 27,698 shares in the company, valued at $6,323,176.42. This trade represents a 4.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 9,034 shares of company stock valued at $2,047,481. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 0.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,667,528 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $13,500,146,000 after acquiring an additional 151,240 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Progressive by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,808,762 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $6,373,474,000 after purchasing an additional 78,374 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,513,188 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $4,128,055,000 after purchasing an additional 301,371 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 78.9% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,704,197 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,384,082,000 after purchasing an additional 6,045,732 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 26.1% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,167,940 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,757,905,000 after purchasing an additional 2,314,864 shares in the last quarter. 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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