Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Stock Price Up 4% - Time to Buy?

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 4% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $253.17 and last traded at $252.53. Approximately 936,843 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 2,473,709 shares. The stock had previously closed at $242.76.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on PGR shares. HSBC downgraded shares of Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $267.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Progressive from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Progressive from $242.00 to $251.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $270.69.

Progressive Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $147.51 billion, a PE ratio of 18.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.38. The business's 50 day moving average is $253.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $236.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $19.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.95 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 11.27%. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 9th. Progressive's payout ratio is 2.91%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 2,981 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.15, for a total value of $748,678.15. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,618,555.95. This represents a 10.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 292,958 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $78,539,110.22. This represents a 3.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 25,839 shares of company stock valued at $6,718,965. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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 shares of Progressive in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC lifted its position in Progressive by 119.6% in the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 123 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its stake in Progressive by 114.1% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in Progressive during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the third quarter worth approximately $49,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently 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.