Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Raised to “Buy” at HSBC

HSBC upgraded shares of Progressive (NYSE:PGR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. HSBC currently has $253.00 price target on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on PGR. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Progressive from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and upped their price target for the company from $210.00 to $245.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Progressive from $256.00 to $255.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Citigroup cut their price target on Progressive from $232.00 to $225.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Progressive from $243.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Progressive currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $234.41.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $236.76 on Monday. Progressive has a 12 month low of $129.31 and a 12 month high of $238.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market capitalization of $138.67 billion, a PE ratio of 24.23, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.35. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $213.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $205.71.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.61. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 10.17%. The company had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.57 earnings per share. Progressive’s revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Progressive will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.17%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.09%.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction of $2,546,584.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 312,958 shares in the company, valued at $63,978,003.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total value of $9,281,827.71. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 517,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $110,665,641.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 12,457 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.43, for a total transaction of $2,546,584.51. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 312,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,978,003.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 100,807 shares of company stock valued at $21,412,417. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Sachetta LLC acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Northwest Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its position in Progressive by 119.6% during the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 123 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the first quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 126.0% in the second quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 165 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

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.