Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.37 EPS

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The insurance provider reported $4.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.28 by $0.37, Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.87 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR traded down $9.68 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $265.45. The company had a trading volume of 3,648,773 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,642,950. Progressive has a twelve month low of $201.34 and a twelve month high of $292.99. The stock has a market cap of $155.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $273.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $257.84.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is currently 2.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $320.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $289.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $285.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 962 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total transaction of $234,044.98. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 34,787 shares in the company, valued at $8,463,329.23. This trade represents a 2.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 3,855 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.06, for a total value of $952,416.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 39,040 shares in the company, valued at $9,645,222.40. This represents a 8.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 56,317 shares of company stock valued at $14,844,282. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Progressive stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 15.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,392 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $813,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.