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

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

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. HSBC set a $259.00 price target on shares of Progressive and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Barclays upgraded shares of Progressive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $257.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on Progressive from $305.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $259.39.

Progressive Price Performance

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

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 1,649 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider directly owned 39,626 shares in the company, valued at $8,097,573.10. This represents a 4.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.48, for a total value of $1,142,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 223,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,956,523.52. The trade was a 2.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 13,788 shares of company stock valued at $3,018,961. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allstate Corp increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1,614.1% in the 3rd quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 21,598 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,334,000 after buying an additional 20,338 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 1.4% in the second quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 87,760 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $23,420,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192 shares during the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 91.7% in the third quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 11,710 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,892,000 after buying an additional 5,600 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in Progressive by 40.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 16,840 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,159,000 after purchasing an additional 4,865 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 471.3% in the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 22,496 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,556,000 after purchasing an additional 18,558 shares in the last quarter. 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.