Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Stock

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its price target hoisted by research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $246.00 to $250.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “market perform” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 10.93% from the stock’s current price.

PGR has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Zacks Research cut shares of Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Progressive from $268.00 to $261.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Progressive from $301.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $264.98.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE PGR opened at $225.36 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $223.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $241.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a market cap of $132.15 billion, a PE ratio of 12.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.36. Progressive has a twelve month low of $199.90 and a twelve month high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.04 by ($0.59). Progressive had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 33.88%. The company had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.58 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Progressive will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Progressive news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,345 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.29, for a total value of $307,050.05. Following the sale, the insider owned 27,698 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,323,176.42. This trade represents a 4.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.22, for a total value of $1,555,052.40. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,679,806.24. This represents a 29.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 17,673 shares of company stock worth $4,163,005 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PGR. New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1.4% in the second quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 87,760 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $23,420,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192 shares in the last quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $306,000. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP raised its position in shares of Progressive by 199.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP now owns 9,411 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,511,000 after purchasing an additional 6,263 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $13,583,000. Finally, Whalen Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Progressive during the 2nd quarter valued at $647,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Progressive

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.