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 report released on Tuesday morning.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Progressive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $312.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $285.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $287.65.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of PGR stock opened at $283.38 on Tuesday. Progressive has a 52-week low of $201.34 and a 52-week high of $292.99. The stock has a market cap of $166.12 billion, a PE ratio of 19.68, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.31. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $275.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $260.88.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.28 by $0.37. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. The firm had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.87 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Progressive will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.70%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 360 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total value of $99,421.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,891.35. This trade represents a 35.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.59, for a total transaction of $2,685,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 248,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,616,766.16. This trade represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 39,894 shares of company stock valued at $11,020,097 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Webster Bank N. A. bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 114.0% during the 1st quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 210.0% during the 1st quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 93 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 54.7% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. 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.