Progressive (PGR) Competitors

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) and Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, media sentiment, risk and valuation.

Is PGR or TRV a better dividend stock?

Progressive pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. Travelers Companies pays an annual dividend of $4.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Progressive pays out 2.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Travelers Companies pays out 24.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Travelers Companies has raised its dividend for 21 consecutive years. Travelers Companies is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has preferable valuation & earnings, PGR or TRV?

Progressive has higher revenue and earnings than Travelers Companies. Travelers Companies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Progressive, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Progressive	$75.37B	2.03	$8.48B	$14.83	17.59
Travelers Companies	$46.42B	1.28	$5.00B	$18.37	14.35

Is PGR or TRV more profitable?

Progressive has a net margin of 11.10% compared to Travelers Companies' net margin of 9.09%. Progressive's return on equity of 33.50% beat Travelers Companies' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Progressive	11.10%	33.50%	8.37%
Travelers Companies	9.09%	16.10%	3.28%

Which has more volatility and risk, PGR or TRV?

Progressive has a beta of 0.37, suggesting that its share price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Travelers Companies has a beta of 0.51, suggesting that its share price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media favor PGR or TRV?

In the previous week, Progressive had 26 more articles in the media than Travelers Companies. MarketBeat recorded 53 mentions for Progressive and 27 mentions for Travelers Companies. Travelers Companies' average media sentiment score of 1.22 beat Progressive's score of 0.99 indicating that Travelers Companies is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Progressive	35 Very Positive mention(s)	6 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	3 Negative mention(s)	2 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Travelers Companies	18 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do insiders and institutionals believe in PGR or TRV?

85.3% of Progressive shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.5% of Travelers Companies shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Progressive shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of Travelers Companies shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Do analysts rate PGR or TRV?

Progressive presently has a consensus price target of $288.88, indicating a potential upside of 10.75%. Travelers Companies has a consensus price target of $271.11, indicating a potential upside of 2.81%. Given Progressive's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Progressive is more favorable than Travelers Companies.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Progressive	0 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	11 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.61
Travelers Companies	3 Sell rating(s)	10 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.20

Summary

Progressive beats Travelers Companies on 13 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.