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

Key Points

• Progressive has an average analyst rating of "Hold" from 22 brokerages, with 2 sell ratings, 14 hold ratings, and 6 buy ratings. The average 1-year price target is about $238.39.
• The company reported strong first-quarter earnings, posting EPS of $4.80 versus the $4.67 consensus, while revenue of $22.19 billion fell short of expectations. Revenue still rose 6.5% year over year.
• Insiders have been selling shares, including recent sales by Maribel Pumarejo and Karen Bailo, while institutional investors remain heavily involved and own about 85.34% of the stock. Progressive also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share.

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

PGR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Progressive from $216.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Evercore reiterated a "negative" rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Zacks Research upgraded Progressive from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Progressive from $208.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Roth Mkm set a $235.00 target price on Progressive in a report on Thursday, February 19th.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Maribel Pumarejo sold 739 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.25, for a total transaction of $150,201.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 3,517 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.00, for a total value of $745,604.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 32,348 shares in the company, valued at $6,857,776. This trade represents a 9.81% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 6,933 shares of company stock worth $1,441,564 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. KCM Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 13.1% in the 1st quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,525 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $501,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 35.7% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 352,606 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $69,901,000 after purchasing an additional 92,828 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 30.3% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 403,180 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $79,926,000 after purchasing an additional 93,776 shares in the last quarter. Cardiff Park Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 339.0% in the 1st quarter. Cardiff Park Advisors LLC now owns 3,885 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $770,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RIHO Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. RIHO Partners LLC now owns 129,026 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $25,578,000 after purchasing an additional 6,926 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Up 1.5%

NYSE PGR opened at $199.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $116.77 billion, a PE ratio of 10.16, a PEG ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 0.31. Progressive has a 1 year low of $191.75 and a 1 year high of $289.96. The business's 50-day moving average is $201.02 and its 200 day moving average is $210.50.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.51 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 12.92%.Progressive's quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.37 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Progressive will post 16.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

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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