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

Key Points

• Progressive (NYSE:PGR) has a consensus analyst rating of "Hold" from 22 brokerages, with 2 sell, 14 hold, and 6 buy ratings. The average 1-year price target is about $238.11.
• The company recently reported Q1 earnings of $4.80 per share, beating estimates of $4.67, though revenue of $22.19 billion came in below expectations. Analysts now expect Progressive to post $16.35 EPS for the full fiscal year.
• Progressive also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, payable July 10, and recent insider sales included shares sold by John Jo Murphy and Steven Broz under pre-arranged trading plans.

Shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the twenty-two ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fourteen have issued a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $238.1053.

A number of research firms have recently commented on PGR. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Progressive from $218.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Zacks Research upgraded Progressive from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Roth Mkm set a $235.00 target price on Progressive in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Progressive from $235.00 to $223.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Progressive from $216.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th.

Progressive Trading Up 2.0%

PGR stock opened at $204.12 on Thursday. Progressive has a 1-year low of $189.20 and a 1-year high of $269.84. 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 company has a market capitalization of $119.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.38, a PEG ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.28. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $198.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $208.26.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $22.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.51 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 12.92%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.37 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Progressive will post 16.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is currently 2.03%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 5,916 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,183,200.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 41,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,258,000. This represents a 12.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,157 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $231,400.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 28,668 shares in the company, valued at $5,733,600. The trade was a 3.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,343 shares of company stock worth $1,470,355. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at $1,836,094,000. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 78.9% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,704,197 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,384,082,000 after purchasing an additional 6,045,732 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 181.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,506,302 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,481,615,000 after purchasing an additional 4,197,212 shares during the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 19,724.0% in the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,068,876 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $806,614,000 after purchasing an additional 4,048,351 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew 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 worth $2,757,905,000 after purchasing an additional 2,314,864 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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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