Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.74 EPS

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) issued its earnings results on Friday. The insurance provider reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.74, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $18.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.88 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 8.89% and a return on equity of 29.43%. The firm’s revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.65 EPS.

Progressive Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:PGR opened at $203.90 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.31. Progressive has a one year low of $111.41 and a one year high of $212.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.87, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $197.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $173.13.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 4th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.20%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 3rd. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 4.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on PGR. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $232.00 to $238.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $265.00 to $264.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $171.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $161.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $228.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Progressive currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $202.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.49, for a total value of $1,603,843.36. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,342 shares in the company, valued at $6,128,485.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.49, for a total transaction of $1,603,843.36. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,128,485.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 5,939 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.24, for a total transaction of $1,005,116.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 465,737 shares in the company, valued at $78,821,329.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 44,629 shares of company stock worth $8,348,176. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in Progressive during the 1st quarter valued at about $121,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,301,000. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 10,503 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,172,000 after buying an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. &PARTNERS purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the 1st quarter worth approximately $412,000. Finally, Tuttle Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive during the 1st quarter worth approximately $214,000. 85.34% of the stock is 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.