Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Price Target Cut to $253.00 by Analysts at BMO Capital Markets

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its target price reduced by investment analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $256.00 to $253.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “market perform” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 11.33% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Progressive in a research note on Monday, September 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Monday. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Progressive from $301.38 to $300.60 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $350.00 to $348.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $264.74.

Progressive Stock Down 2.0%

NYSE PGR opened at $227.25 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $223.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $241.71. Progressive has a 12 month low of $199.90 and a 12 month high of $292.99. The company has a market capitalization of $133.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.47, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.36.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.04 by ($0.59). Progressive had a return on equity of 33.88% and a net margin of 12.57%.The business had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.58 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Progressive will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,345 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.29, for a total value of $307,050.05. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,698 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,323,176.42. This represents a 4.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $536,977.80. Following the sale, the insider owned 43,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,532,802.60. This represents a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,673 shares of company stock valued at $4,163,005. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Davis Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its position in Progressive by 106.6% during the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 126 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new position in Progressive during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 900.0% in the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 130 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the second quarter worth about $34,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.