Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Shares gapped down — Progressive closed at $227.72, opened at $214.34 and last traded around $211.53 on a volume of 204,135 shares.
• Earnings miss — Progressive reported Q3 EPS of $4.45 versus $5.04 expected and revenue of $21.38B versus $21.64B, and analysts' consensus rating is "Hold" with a $264.98 price target.
• Insider selling and dividend — insiders sold 9,034 shares (~$2.05M) in the past 90 days, and the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share (annualized $0.40, ~0.2% yield).

The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $227.72, but opened at $214.34. Progressive shares last traded at $211.5280, with a volume of 204,135 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on PGR shares. Hsbc Global Res raised Progressive from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $276.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $264.98.

Progressive Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $223.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $238.29. The stock has a market cap of $124.71 billion, a PE ratio of 11.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.34.

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

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is presently 2.19%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,345 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.29, for a total value of $307,050.05. Following the sale, the insider owned 27,698 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,323,176.42. The trade was a 4.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.48, for a total transaction of $1,142,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 223,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $50,956,523.52. This trade represents a 2.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 9,034 shares of company stock valued at $2,047,481 in the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,667,528 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $13,500,146,000 after buying an additional 151,240 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew 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 acquiring an additional 78,374 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Progressive by 2.0% during 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 holdings 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,167,940 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,757,905,000 after purchasing an additional 2,314,864 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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