Brokerages Set The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) Price Target at $284.88

Key Points

• The Progressive Corporation has a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from analysts, with an average price target of $284.88.
• In its latest quarterly earnings report, Progressive reported $4.88 EPS, exceeding estimates, and a revenue of $20.08 billion, which was slightly below consensus expectations.
• Progressive recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, translating to an annual dividend yield of 0.2%.

Shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eighteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $284.8824.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on PGR shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Progressive from $290.00 to $268.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $312.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Progressive from $309.00 to $287.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 11th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Progressive from $288.00 to $281.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Progressive to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of Progressive stock traded up $0.10 on Friday, hitting $247.25. 1,040,333 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,248,504. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $144.94 billion, a PE ratio of 13.90, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.33. Progressive has a 1 year low of $228.54 and a 1 year high of $292.99. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $253.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $266.51.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.45. Progressive had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 35.37%. The company had revenue of $20.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.48 earnings per share. Progressive's revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Progressive will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.25%.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 16,664 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total value of $4,153,335.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 228,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,832,701.76. This trade represents a 6.81% 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 Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,232 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.16, for a total transaction of $1,509,141.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 27,844 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,742,703.04. This trade represents a 18.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 112,313 shares of company stock valued at $28,349,549. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Progressive by 48.9% during the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 43,723 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $11,668,000 after acquiring an additional 14,361 shares during the period. Hollencrest Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 16.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 1,089 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 14.2% during the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 314,738 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $83,991,000 after acquiring an additional 39,203 shares during the last quarter. Second Line Capital LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 3.0% during the second quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 13,197 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,522,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 2.4% in the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 5,353 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,429,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Company Profile

The Progressive Corporation, an insurance holding company, provides personal and commercial auto, personal residential and commercial property, business related general liability, and other specialty property-casualty insurance products and related services in the United States. It operates in three segments: Personal Lines, Commercial Lines, and Property.