The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-two brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $238.1053.

PGR has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $208.00 price target on Progressive in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Roth Mkm set a $235.00 price target on Progressive in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. UBS Group raised their price target on Progressive from $218.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Mizuho cut their price target on Progressive from $235.00 to $223.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Progressive from $218.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st.

Progressive Trading Up 2.0%

NYSE PGR opened at $204.12 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $198.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $208.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market cap of $119.27 billion, a PE ratio of 10.38, a PEG ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.28. Progressive has a 12 month low of $189.20 and a 12 month high of $269.84.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.51 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 33.47%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.37 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Progressive will post 16.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.03%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,157 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $231,400.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 28,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,733,600. This trade represents a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.50, for a total value of $55,755.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $115,227. The trade was a 32.61% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 7,343 shares of company stock valued at $1,470,355 over the last quarter. 0.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its position in Progressive by 235.1% during the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Dagco Inc. acquired a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 700.0% in the first quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 144 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. acquired a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Company Profile

Progressive Corporation is a large U.S.-based property and casualty insurer that primarily underwrites personal auto insurance along with a broad suite of related products. Its offerings include coverage for private passenger automobiles, commercial auto fleets, motorcycles, boats and recreational vehicles, as well as homeowners, renters, umbrella and other specialty P&C products. Progressive also provides claims handling, risk management and related services to individual and commercial policyholders.

The company distributes its products through a mix of direct channels—online and by phone—and an extensive independent agent network.