Wall Street Zen Upgrades Progressive (NYSE:PGR) to "Buy"

Key Points

• Progressive (NYSE:PGR) has been upgraded to a "Buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, changing from a previous "Hold" rating.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on the stock, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $284.82.
• CEO Susan Patricia Griffith and CFO John P. Sauerland recently sold shares of the company's stock, reducing their positions by 5.70% and 6.81% respectively.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

PGR has been the topic of a number of other reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Progressive from $281.00 to $279.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Progressive from $280.00 to $268.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 21st. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Friday, August 29th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Progressive from $287.00 to $281.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut shares of Progressive from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $275.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Progressive currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $284.82.

Progressive Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $248.29 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $145.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.99, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Progressive has a 12-month low of $228.54 and a 12-month high of $292.99. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $246.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $264.74.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $20.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.39 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 35.37%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.48 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Progressive will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,660 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.12, for a total transaction of $7,423,399.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 506,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $122,741,523.40. This trade represents a 5.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 16,664 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $4,153,335.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 228,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,832,701.76. This trade represents a 6.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 139,010 shares of company stock worth $34,547,699. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Progressive by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,207 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,123,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC grew its position in Progressive by 50.7% in the 2nd quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC now owns 8,780 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,134,000 after purchasing an additional 2,954 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in Progressive by 18.9% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 68,648 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $18,443,000 after purchasing an additional 10,903 shares during the period. American Trust grew its position in Progressive by 88.5% in the 2nd quarter. American Trust now owns 4,384 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,170,000 after purchasing an additional 2,058 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in Progressive by 18.5% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 111,613 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $29,782,000 after purchasing an additional 17,423 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company's stock.

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.

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