Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) Competitors

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) and Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.B) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, community ranking, risk and media sentiment.

Is PGR or BRK.B more profitable?

Berkshire Hathaway has a net margin of 28.89% compared to Progressive's net margin of 11.25%. Progressive's return on equity of 33.79% beat Berkshire Hathaway's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Progressive	11.25%	33.79%	8.21%
Berkshire Hathaway	28.89%	6.94%	3.77%

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in PGR or BRK.B?

85.3% of Progressive shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 39.3% of Berkshire Hathaway shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Progressive shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.1% of Berkshire Hathaway shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Which has higher earnings and valuation, PGR or BRK.B?

Berkshire Hathaway has higher revenue and earnings than Progressive. Berkshire Hathaway is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Progressive, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Progressive	$75.37B	2.07	$8.48B	$14.40	18.47
Berkshire Hathaway	$452.95B	2.28	$96.22B	$49.50	9.67

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer PGR or BRK.B?

Progressive received 330 more outperform votes than Berkshire Hathaway when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 67.75% of users gave Berkshire Hathaway an outperform vote while only 54.49% of users gave Progressive an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Progressive	Outperform Votes 601 54.49%	Underperform Votes 502 45.51%
Berkshire Hathaway	Outperform Votes 271 67.75%	Underperform Votes 129 32.25%

Which has more volatility and risk, PGR or BRK.B?

Progressive has a beta of 0.42, indicating that its stock price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Berkshire Hathaway has a beta of 0.88, indicating that its stock price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media favor PGR or BRK.B?

In the previous week, Progressive had 33 more articles in the media than Berkshire Hathaway. MarketBeat recorded 61 mentions for Progressive and 28 mentions for Berkshire Hathaway. Progressive's average media sentiment score of 1.32 beat Berkshire Hathaway's score of 0.17 indicating that Progressive is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Progressive	47 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Berkshire Hathaway	11 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	11 Neutral mention(s)	5 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do analysts recommend PGR or BRK.B?

Progressive currently has a consensus price target of $276.12, indicating a potential upside of 3.81%. Berkshire Hathaway has a consensus price target of $457.50, indicating a potential downside of 4.40%. Given Progressive's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Progressive is more favorable than Berkshire Hathaway.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Progressive	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	12 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67
Berkshire Hathaway	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Summary

Progressive beats Berkshire Hathaway on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.