The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $269.56.

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $319.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. HSBC raised Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $253.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Progressive from $242.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,180 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.28, for a total value of $549,970.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,723 shares in the company, valued at $3,462,038.44. This represents a 13.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 2,981 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.15, for a total value of $748,678.15. Following the sale, the insider now owns 26,353 shares in the company, valued at $6,618,555.95. The trade was a 10.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 59,209 shares of company stock valued at $14,975,979. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Davis Capital Management purchased a new position in Progressive in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 119.6% in the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 123 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. 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 valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR opened at $255.78 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $252.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $230.10. Progressive has a 12 month low of $149.14 and a 12 month high of $263.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.36.

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

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.