Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Stock Price Expected to Rise, HSBC Analyst Says

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its price objective boosted by analysts at HSBC from $214.00 to $221.00 in a report released on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. HSBC’s target price suggests a potential downside of 4.64% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also commented on PGR. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Progressive from $331.00 to $313.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Progressive from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $205.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $208.00 price target on Progressive in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Progressive from $216.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Progressive has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $235.37.

Progressive Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $231.75 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $135.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.78, a PEG ratio of 7.03 and a beta of 0.26. Progressive has a fifty-two week low of $189.20 and a fifty-two week high of $261.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $203.97 and a 200 day moving average of $206.60.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.13. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 12.92%.The firm had revenue of $22.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.37 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Progressive will post 17.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other Progressive news, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.33, for a total transaction of $1,514,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 22,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,877,376.18. The trade was a 23.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,157 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.76, for a total value of $236,907.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 27,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,633,152.36. The trade was a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 15,230 shares of company stock worth $3,165,817 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Progressive by 44.7% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,438 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $533,000 after purchasing an additional 753 shares during the period. SWP Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Progressive in the second quarter valued at $2,491,000. Sapient Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 17.0% in the first quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 3,453 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $685,000 after buying an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 17.0% during the first quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,590 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,505,000 after buying an additional 1,104 shares during the period. Finally, First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services increased its position in Progressive by 42.0% in the 1st quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services now owns 36,751 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,286,000 after acquiring an additional 10,879 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.