The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $275.00.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PGR shares. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on Progressive from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 9,066 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $2,194,878.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,691,485.60. This represents a 1.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.66, for a total transaction of $2,386,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 282,958 shares in the company, valued at $67,530,756.28. This trade represents a 3.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 32,919 shares of company stock valued at $8,222,168. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PGR. Davis Capital Management purchased a new stake in Progressive during the third quarter worth $25,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its position in shares of Progressive by 114.1% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Sachetta LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 34.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 209 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in Progressive during the 3rd quarter worth $49,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Progressive Trading Up 0.5 %

PGR stock opened at $243.45 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. Progressive has a 1-year low of $164.16 and a 1-year high of $270.62. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $251.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $240.95. The company has a market capitalization of $142.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.69, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.41.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $19.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.95 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 11.27% and a return on equity of 33.10%. Research analysts anticipate that Progressive will post 13.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.91%.

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.