Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Lowers Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Price Target to $226.00

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its price target dropped by equities researchers at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $231.00 to $226.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “market perform” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 8.80% from the company’s current price.

PGR has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Evercore set a $240.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a report on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $205.00 to $198.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Progressive from $216.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Progressive from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $235.05.

Progressive Price Performance

PGR opened at $207.73 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $121.38 billion, a PE ratio of 10.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.26. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $208.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $206.50. Progressive has a 1 year low of $189.20 and a 1 year high of $254.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.51 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 32.92%. Progressive’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.37 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Progressive will post 17.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,157 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.76, for a total value of $236,907.32. Following the sale, the insider owned 27,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,633,152.36. This trade represents a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 5,916 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,183,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 41,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,258,000. This trade represents a 12.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 15,230 shares of company stock valued at $3,165,817 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,836,094,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Progressive by 181.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,506,302 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,481,615,000 after acquiring an additional 4,197,212 shares during the period. Diamant Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Progressive by 19,724.0% in the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,068,876 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $806,614,000 after acquiring an additional 4,048,351 shares during the period. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth $353,906,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 193.2% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,206,742 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $502,519,000 after acquiring an additional 1,454,111 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Progressive

Here are the key news stories impacting Progressive this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reuters reported that Progressive’s quarterly profit rose on higher auto insurance demand, reinforcing the view that core underwriting and pricing trends remain healthy. Progressive’s quarterly profit rises on higher auto insurance demand
• Positive Sentiment: Some commentary remains constructive after Q2, noting that Progressive continues to grow policies and remains a leading property and casualty insurer, which may help investor confidence. Progressive Is The P&C Insurer To Hold, After Policies Grow In Q2
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target to $308 and kept a buy rating, signaling optimism even though the target was trimmed slightly from prior levels. Progressive Given New $308.00 Price Target at Bank of America
• Neutral Sentiment: Other analysts also reduced their forecasts after the mixed Q2 report, but several still view the shares as fairly valued to modestly attractive from current levels. Progressive Analysts Slash Their Forecasts After Q2 Results
• Negative Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets cut its price target to $205 and kept a market perform rating, reflecting a more cautious stance following the earnings release. BMO Capital Markets price target cut
• Negative Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods also lowered its target to $226 and maintained a market perform rating, adding to the post-earnings analyst headwinds. KBW price target cut

About Progressive

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.