Raymond James Upgrades Progressive (NYSE:PGR) to Outperform

Raymond James upgraded shares of Progressive (NYSE:PGR) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note published on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has $305.00 price target on the insurance provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Progressive from $242.00 to $251.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Six equities research 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, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.65.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE PGR opened at $241.02 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $141.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.52, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $252.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $239.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Progressive has a 12-month low of $157.61 and a 12-month high of $270.62.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.18. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 11.27%. The business had revenue of $19.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.95 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Progressive will post 13.2 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 9th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.17%. Progressive’s payout ratio is presently 2.91%.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.09, for a total value of $2,680,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 292,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,539,110.22. This trade represents a 3.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 2,981 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.15, for a total value of $748,678.15. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,618,555.95. The trade was a 10.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Davis Capital Management purchased a new stake in Progressive during the third quarter valued at $25,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the third quarter worth approximately $49,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Progressive

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.