JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Stock

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its price target lifted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $251.00 to $256.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on PGR. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $299.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. HSBC lowered shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.94.

Progressive Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of PGR opened at $242.22 on Friday. Progressive has a 1-year low of $161.56 and a 1-year high of $270.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $251.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $240.29. The stock has a market cap of $141.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.41.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.18. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 11.27%. The company had revenue of $19.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.95 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Progressive will post 13.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.17%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.09, for a total transaction of $2,680,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 292,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,539,110.22. This trade represents a 3.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 2,981 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.15, for a total value of $748,678.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 26,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,618,555.95. This represents a 10.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 22,981 shares of company stock worth $5,816,178 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Davis Capital Management purchased a new position in Progressive in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings in Progressive by 114.1% in the third 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 acquired a new stake in Progressive during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Sachetta LLC increased its holdings in Progressive by 34.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 209 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 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.