Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Analyst Says

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its price objective raised by stock analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $210.00 to $231.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “market perform” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price points to a potential downside of 2.08% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Progressive from $235.00 to $223.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Evercore reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Barclays set a $247.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut Progressive from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, June 29th. Six 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $236.47.

Progressive Price Performance

NYSE PGR traded up $1.51 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $235.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 427,905 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,288,798. The firm has a market capitalization of $137.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.97, a P/E/G ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 0.26. The company’s 50-day moving average is $205.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $206.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Progressive has a 1-year low of $189.20 and a 1-year high of $254.93.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $22.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.37 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Progressive will post 17.09 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other Progressive news, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.33, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 23.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,157 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.76, for a total transaction of $236,907.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,511 shares in the company, valued at $5,633,152.36. The trade was a 4.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,836,094,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Progressive by 181.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,506,302 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,481,615,000 after buying an additional 4,197,212 shares in the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Progressive by 19,724.0% in the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,068,876 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $806,614,000 after buying an additional 4,048,351 shares during the period. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $353,906,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 193.2% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,206,742 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $502,519,000 after acquiring an additional 1,454,111 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.