Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Hits New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after Roth Mkm raised their price target on the stock from $290.00 to $315.00. Roth Mkm currently has a buy rating on the stock. Progressive traded as high as $275.52 and last traded at $272.91, with a volume of 3951764 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $266.19.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Raymond James upgraded shares of Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. HSBC lowered shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $277.59.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 3,855 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.06, for a total transaction of $952,416.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 39,040 shares in the company, valued at $9,645,222.40. The trade was a 8.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $2,500,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 27,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,935,250. This trade represents a 26.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 56,361 shares of company stock worth $13,983,575 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. grew its position in shares of Progressive by 44.3% during the 4th quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. now owns 2,606 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $624,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth $359,000. United Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. United Advisor Group LLC now owns 5,917 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,418,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. American Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. American Trust now owns 4,559 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,092,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ascent Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 36,842 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,828,000 after acquiring an additional 3,016 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $163.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.42. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $248.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $250.30.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.78%.

Progressive Company Profile

The Progressive Corporation, an insurance holding company, provides personal and commercial auto, personal residential and commercial property, business related general liability, and other specialty property-casualty insurance products and related services in the United States. It operates in three segments: Personal Lines, Commercial Lines, and Property.