Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy Rating

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Tuesday.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on PGR. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Progressive from $281.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Progressive from $250.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. HSBC raised Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $253.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $267.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $269.81.

Progressive Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of PGR stock opened at $256.56 on Tuesday. Progressive has a fifty-two week low of $149.14 and a fifty-two week high of $263.85. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $252.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $230.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $150.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.36.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.18. Progressive had a net margin of 11.27% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The firm had revenue of $19.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.95 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Progressive will post 13.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In related news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 7,696 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.21, for a total transaction of $1,964,096.16. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,876,384.69. This represents a 33.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,370 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.20, for a total value of $10,937,914.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 473,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $119,475,967. The trade was a 8.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 59,209 shares of company stock valued at $14,975,979. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Davis Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its position in shares of Progressive by 119.6% during the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 123 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank lifted its stake in Progressive by 126.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 165 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in Progressive by 114.1% during the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Progressive during the first quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

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.