The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty-three ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $236.2632.

Several research firms have recently commented on PGR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Progressive from $250.00 to $241.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on Progressive from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 17th. HSBC raised their target price on Progressive from $214.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Mizuho set a $236.00 price target on Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Progressive from $225.00 to $234.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday.

Progressive Stock Up 0.6%

PGR stock opened at $218.90 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $217.19 and a 200 day moving average of $207.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.26 billion, a PE ratio of 10.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Progressive has a 52 week low of $189.20 and a 52 week high of $249.83.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The insurance provider reported $5.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.64 by $1.03. Progressive had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 32.92%. The company had revenue of $23.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.40 EPS. Progressive’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Progressive will post 17.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.01%.

Insider Activity

In other Progressive news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 7,339 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.29, for a total transaction of $1,535,979.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,908,847.43. This trade represents a 14.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,452 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total transaction of $1,797,824.92. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 32,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,880,743.08. This represents a 20.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 83,449 shares of company stock valued at $17,685,203. 0.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its position in Progressive by 235.1% during the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. IMG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Progressive in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Progressive during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Kilter Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

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.