Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Stock

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $299.00 to $302.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the insurance provider's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price would indicate a potential upside of 20.68% from the company's previous close.

PGR has been the subject of several other reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Progressive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $242.00 to $251.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $273.81.

Progressive Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE PGR traded down $1.56 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $250.25. 2,496,389 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,484,150. The company has a 50 day moving average of $253.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $237.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market cap of $146.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.20, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.38. Progressive has a 52-week low of $154.38 and a 52-week high of $270.62.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 7,696 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.21, for a total value of $1,964,096.16. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,189 shares in the company, valued at $3,876,384.69. This represents a 33.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.09, for a total value of $2,680,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now 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. Insiders sold a total of 25,839 shares of company stock worth $6,718,965 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 20.9% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 237 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 296 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Progressive by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,712 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $434,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank boosted its holdings in Progressive by 4.6% in the third quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 1,024 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in Progressive by 21.3% during the second quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 262 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.