Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Progressive (NYSE:PGR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on PGR. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $261.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.59.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR stock opened at $278.62 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $163.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.42. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $247.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $250.14. Progressive has a 52 week low of $186.94 and a 52 week high of $279.93.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. On average, analysts expect that Progressive will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.78%.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 9,066 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $2,194,878.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,736 shares in the company, valued at $114,691,485.60. This represents a 1.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $46,241.10. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,982 shares in the company, valued at $964,042.20. The trade was a 4.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 56,361 shares of company stock worth $13,983,575. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PGR. United Advisor Group LLC increased its position in shares of Progressive by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. United Advisor Group LLC now owns 5,917 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,418,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. American Trust increased its position in shares of Progressive by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. American Trust now owns 4,559 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,092,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC increased its position in shares of Progressive by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 36,842 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $8,828,000 after purchasing an additional 3,016 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Progressive by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 837,917 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $200,773,000 after purchasing an additional 21,745 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP increased its position in shares of Progressive by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 5,318 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,274,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.