The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Consensus "Hold": Twenty-two analysts rate Progressive a consensus "Hold" (2 sell, 14 hold, 6 buy) with an average 1‑year price target of $238.39.
• Quarterly results mixed: Q1 EPS of $4.80 topped estimates ($4.67) but revenue of $22.19B missed ($23.51B); the company reported a 12.92% net margin and 33.47% ROE, and sell‑side forecasts ~16.37 EPS for the year.
• Dividend and ownership: Progressive pays a $0.10 quarterly dividend (0.2% yield), insiders have recently sold shares, and institutional ownership is high (~85%) with large recent stakes added by Norges Bank, Capital International and Wellington.

Shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the twenty-two research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fourteen have given a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $238.3889.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PGR. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Progressive from $216.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $208.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $218.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Roth Mkm set a $235.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research note on Thursday, February 19th.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE:PGR opened at $207.77 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $203.58 and a 200-day moving average of $213.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.56, a P/E/G ratio of 6.73 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Progressive has a twelve month low of $192.02 and a twelve month high of $289.96.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $22.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.51 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 33.47%. Progressive's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.37 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Progressive will post 16.37 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 2nd. Progressive's payout ratio is 2.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, insider Maribel Pumarejo sold 739 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.25, for a total value of $150,201.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 2,266 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.05, for a total transaction of $460,111.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive owned 26,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,330,062.50. The trade was a 7.95% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,933 shares of company stock worth $1,441,564. 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 PGR. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth $1,836,094,000. Capital International Investors grew 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 worth $3,384,082,000 after acquiring an additional 6,045,732 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 181.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,506,302 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,481,615,000 after acquiring an additional 4,197,212 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 2,314,864 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $353,906,000. Institutional investors 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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