Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy” Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Progressive (NYSE:PGR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $267.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. HSBC upgraded shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $253.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $281.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $269.81.

Progressive Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $266.04 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Progressive has a 12-month low of $149.14 and a 12-month high of $266.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $155.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.33, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.36. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $253.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $231.52.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.18. Progressive had a net margin of 11.27% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The business had revenue of $19.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.95 billion. Analysts predict that Progressive will post 13.09 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,370 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.20, for a total value of $10,937,914.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 473,735 shares in the company, valued at $119,475,967. The trade was a 8.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 7,696 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.21, for a total transaction of $1,964,096.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,876,384.69. This represents a 33.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 59,209 shares of company stock worth $14,975,979. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Davis Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 119.6% during the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 123 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 126.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 165 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 114.1% during the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

About Progressive

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.