Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Positive Forecast for Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Stock Price

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its target price boosted by equities researchers at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $210.00 to $231.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “market perform” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective suggests a potential downside of 2.08% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also commented on PGR. Mizuho dropped their target price on Progressive from $235.00 to $223.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. Evercore reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Barclays set a $247.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Progressive from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $236.47.

Progressive Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of PGR stock traded up $1.51 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $235.91. 427,905 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,288,798. The business’s fifty day moving average is $205.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $206.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $137.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.97, a P/E/G ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 0.26. Progressive has a 12-month low of $189.20 and a 12-month high of $254.93. 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 (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.13. Progressive had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 33.47%. The company had revenue of $22.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.37 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Progressive will post 17.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 5,916 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,183,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,258,000. This trade represents a 12.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,157 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider owned 27,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,633,152.36. This trade represents a 4.04% 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,230 shares of company stock worth $3,165,817. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its position in Progressive by 235.1% during the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Dagco Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 700.0% during the first quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 144 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

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.