Citigroup Cuts Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Price Target to $300.60

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its price objective dropped by equities researchers at Citigroup from $301.38 to $300.60 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Citigroup’s price target points to a potential upside of 27.27% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $214.00 price target on shares of Progressive and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Progressive from $275.00 to $273.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Barclays dropped their price target on Progressive from $271.00 to $257.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 20th. BMO Capital Markets set a $256.00 price objective on Progressive in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $276.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $266.35.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR traded up $1.35 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $236.20. 3,069,626 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,248,172. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $224.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $242.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. Progressive has a 52 week low of $199.90 and a 52 week high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.04 by ($0.59). The company had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.64 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.88% and a net margin of 12.57%.During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.58 EPS. Analysts predict that Progressive will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,420 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.22, for a total value of $1,555,052.40. Following the sale, the insider owned 15,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,679,806.24. This trade represents a 29.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $536,977.80. Following the transaction, the insider owned 43,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,532,802.60. The trade was a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 17,673 shares of company stock worth $4,163,005. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Progressive in the second quarter worth $2,156,939,000. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 78.9% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,704,197 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,384,082,000 after purchasing an additional 6,045,732 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of Progressive by 32.8% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 10,972,574 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,928,141,000 after purchasing an additional 2,709,417 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Progressive by 26.1% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,167,940 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,757,905,000 after purchasing an additional 2,314,864 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 2,012.0% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 767,549 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $189,546,000 after acquiring an additional 731,207 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.