Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.95 EPS

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The insurance provider reported $5.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.72 by $0.95, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $23.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.25 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 12.92%.The business’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.40 earnings per share.

Progressive Stock Performance

Progressive stock traded down $17.85 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $208.73. The stock had a trading volume of 981,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,258,407. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.97 billion, a PE ratio of 10.58, a P/E/G ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $208.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $206.80. Progressive has a 12 month low of $189.20 and a 12 month high of $254.93.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on PGR shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Progressive from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $205.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Progressive from $331.00 to $313.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Progressive from $216.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore set a $240.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research report on Friday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $236.74.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 5,916 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,183,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,290 shares in the company, valued at $8,258,000. This trade represents a 12.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.33, for a total transaction of $1,514,310.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 22,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,877,376.18. This trade represents a 23.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,230 shares of company stock worth $3,165,817. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Bison Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $615,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $269,000. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Progressive by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $813,000 after buying an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. 1248 Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 34.3% in the fourth quarter. 1248 Management LLC now owns 795 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $181,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 31.4% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 644 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $147,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Company Profile

Progressive Corporation is a large U.S.-based property and casualty insurer that primarily underwrites personal auto insurance along with a broad suite of related products. Its offerings include coverage for private passenger automobiles, commercial auto fleets, motorcycles, boats and recreational vehicles, as well as homeowners, renters, umbrella and other specialty P&C products. Progressive also provides claims handling, risk management and related services to individual and commercial policyholders.

The company distributes its products through a mix of direct channels—online and by phone—and an extensive independent agent network.