UBS Group Increases Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Price Target to $218.00

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its price target boosted by investment analysts at UBS Group from $216.00 to $218.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 4.53% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Progressive from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Progressive from $232.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Progressive from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Citigroup increased their price target on Progressive from $202.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Progressive from $161.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $211.88.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE PGR traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $208.55. The company had a trading volume of 2,468,759 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,588,250. Progressive has a fifty-two week low of $111.41 and a fifty-two week high of $212.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $198.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $174.08. The firm has a market cap of $122.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.74. Progressive had a return on equity of 29.43% and a net margin of 8.89%. The company had revenue of $18.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Progressive will post 10.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.49, for a total value of $1,603,843.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,128,485.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.26, for a total transaction of $5,645,965.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,889,859.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.49, for a total value of $1,603,843.36. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,128,485.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Giverny Capital Inc. raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Giverny Capital Inc. now owns 501,431 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $69,849,000 after purchasing an additional 14,022 shares in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 155,427 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $21,651,000 after acquiring an additional 7,268 shares in the last quarter. Invesco LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 3,537 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $563,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 168,187 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,788,000 after acquiring an additional 4,983 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $295,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.