Wells Fargo & Company Boosts Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Price Target to $281.00

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its target price upped by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $262.00 to $281.00 in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 17.89% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $210.00 to $245.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. Bank of America raised their price objective on Progressive from $276.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Progressive from $232.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Progressive from $256.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $232.29.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $238.35 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $213.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $205.50. The stock has a market cap of $139.59 billion, a PE ratio of 24.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. Progressive has a one year low of $129.31 and a one year high of $238.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.54 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 10.17%. Progressive’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.57 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Progressive will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Steven Broz sold 3,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.81, for a total value of $639,920.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,808,963.93. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 3,050 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.81, for a total transaction of $639,920.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,808,963.93. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 12,457 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.43, for a total value of $2,546,584.51. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 312,958 shares in the company, valued at $63,978,003.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 100,807 shares of company stock valued at $21,412,417 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in Progressive by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 24,117 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,841,000 after purchasing an additional 850 shares in the last quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth about $211,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. grew its stake in Progressive by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 643 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in Progressive by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 53,147 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,466,000 after purchasing an additional 4,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its stake in Progressive by 88.7% in the fourth quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 1,185 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $189,000 after acquiring an additional 557 shares during the period. 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.