Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Announces Earnings Results

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64, Zacks reports. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 11.27%.

Progressive Price Performance

PGR traded up $2.12 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $247.17. 903,805 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,526,222. Progressive has a 1 year low of $175.50 and a 1 year high of $270.62. The company has a market capitalization of $144.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $247.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $244.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 2.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on PGR. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. 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 report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Progressive from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Raymond James raised Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.65.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.66, for a total value of $2,386,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 282,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,530,756.28. This trade represents a 3.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 962 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total value of $234,044.98. Following the sale, the insider now owns 34,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,463,329.23. This represents a 2.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,506 shares of company stock valued at $10,531,159 in the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.