Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Progressive (NYSE:PGR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning.

PGR has been the subject of several other reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $239.00 to $237.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $242.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $269.81.

Progressive Price Performance

PGR stock opened at $262.90 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $252.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $231.17. The company has a market capitalization of $154.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.11, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.36. Progressive has a 52-week low of $149.14 and a 52-week high of $263.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $19.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.95 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 11.27% and a return on equity of 33.10%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Progressive will post 13.09 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 2,981 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.15, for a total transaction of $748,678.15. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,618,555.95. The trade was a 10.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.20, for a total transaction of $10,937,914.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 473,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $119,475,967. This trade represents a 8.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 59,209 shares of company stock valued at $14,975,979 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 55.0% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 1,583 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 562 shares during the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 2.2% in the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,054 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,044,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Progressive in the third quarter valued at about $2,566,000. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 2.6% in the third quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,753 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $952,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 1.0% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 10,451 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,652,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.