Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $240.43 and last traded at $239.3380, with a volume of 668,872 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $234.82.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PGR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised Progressive from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Bank of America raised their target price on Progressive from $302.00 to $314.00 in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Progressive from $252.00 to $246.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Progressive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $190.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 target price (up from $235.00) on shares of Progressive in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $234.45.

Progressive Trading Down 2.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $218.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $209.98. The stock has a market cap of $132.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.48, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, insider Lori Niederst sold 7,339 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,225 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.32, for a total transaction of $273,567.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 28,807 shares in the company, valued at $6,433,179.24. This represents a 4.08% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders sold 48,352 shares of company stock worth $10,524,258 over the last three months. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ibex Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 4.5% during the third quarter. Ibex Wealth Advisors now owns 19,428 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,028,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares during the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department lifted its position in Progressive by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. BankPlus Trust Department now owns 25,388 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,263,000 after buying an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc grew its holdings in Progressive by 1,884.2% during the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 9,754,316 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,022,167,000 after acquiring an additional 9,262,715 shares during the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in Progressive by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 3,433 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $712,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 4.7% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 9,987 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,182,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Company Profile

Progressive Corporation is an insurance company founded in 1937 and headquartered in Mayfield Village, Ohio. It provides personal and commercial insurance, with a major focus on automobile coverage.

The company offers auto insurance for individuals and businesses, as well as coverage for motorcycles, boats, recreational vehicles, homes and renters. Progressive sells through independent insurance agents and directly to customers, including through digital channels. Its Snapshot program uses driving data to help determine auto insurance rates for participating customers.

Progressive serves customers across the United States.