Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Downgraded to “Strong Sell” Rating by Zacks Research

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Progressive from $242.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $268.00 to $261.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $250.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Mizuho set a $240.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $259.39.

Progressive Stock Performance

Progressive stock opened at $207.43 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $220.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $231.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Progressive has a 52 week low of $198.50 and a 52 week high of $292.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.24, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.34.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 1,649 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.35, for a total value of $336,973.15. Following the transaction, the insider owned 39,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,097,573.10. This represents a 4.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.48, for a total transaction of $1,142,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 223,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,956,523.52. This represents a 2.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 13,788 shares of company stock valued at $3,018,961 in the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SageGuard Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at about $13,134,000. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 6,010 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,369,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. PFG Advisors raised its position in Progressive by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 1,424 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Vision Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Progressive by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Vision Capital Management Inc. now owns 25,264 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,753,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares during the period. Finally, Revisor Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,902 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.