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

Key Points

• Progressive Corporation has a consensus analyst rating of “Hold” from 22 research firms, with six buy ratings, thirteen hold ratings, and three sell ratings. The average 1-year price target is about $237.37.
• The company recently reported strong quarterly earnings, posting $4.80 EPS versus the $4.67 estimate, though revenue of $22.19 billion fell short of expectations. Revenue still rose 6.5% year over year, and Progressive expects full-year EPS of 17.12.
• Progressive also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, payable July 10, while recent insider selling included director Jeffrey D. Kelly and insider John Jo Murphy. Institutional ownership remains high at 85.34%.

The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the twenty-two research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have issued a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $237.3684.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $235.00 to $223.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Barclays set a $247.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Evercore restated a "negative" rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Progressive from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $208.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th.

Progressive Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $231.75 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $135.42 billion, a PE ratio of 11.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.03 and a beta of 0.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $203.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $206.60. Progressive has a 1 year low of $189.20 and a 1 year high of $261.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.51 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 12.92%.Progressive's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.37 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Progressive will post 17.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be given 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 (DPR) is 2.03%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.33, for a total value of $1,514,310.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 22,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,877,376.18. This trade represents a 23.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 5,916 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,183,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 41,290 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,258,000. This trade represents a 12.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 15,230 shares of company stock worth $3,165,817 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $813,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $269,000. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 3.2% in 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 last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,282 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $609,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,146 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,681,000 after buying an additional 1,622 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company's stock.

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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