Roth Capital Analysts Increase Earnings Estimates for The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) – Equities research analysts at Roth Capital raised their Q2 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Progressive in a report issued on Monday, April 15th. Roth Capital analyst H. Fong now forecasts that the insurance provider will earn $2.00 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $1.92. The consensus estimate for Progressive’s current full-year earnings is $10.50 per share. Roth Capital also issued estimates for Progressive’s Q3 2024 earnings at $2.27 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $2.60 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $2.67 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.28 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.87 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $3.17 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $11.00 EPS.

PGR has been the subject of several other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Progressive from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on Progressive from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Progressive from $202.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Progressive from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $208.31.

Progressive Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $208.35 on Tuesday. Progressive has a 12-month low of $111.41 and a 12-month high of $212.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.03 billion, a PE ratio of 21.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $198.20 and its 200-day moving average is $174.08.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.74. Progressive had a return on equity of 29.43% and a net margin of 8.89%. The business had revenue of $18.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 4th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 3rd. Progressive’s payout ratio is 4.09%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.26, for a total transaction of $5,645,965.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,889,859.14. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related 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 transaction of $1,603,843.36. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 32,342 shares in the company, valued at $6,128,485.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.26, for a total transaction of $5,645,965.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,859.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PGR. Norges Bank bought a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at $1,078,831,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $840,885,000. Viking Global Investors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 412.0% in the 4th quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 5,863,559 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $933,948,000 after acquiring an additional 4,718,237 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 21,554,503 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,002,542,000 after acquiring an additional 2,666,449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Progressive by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,721,345 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $871,826,000 after buying an additional 1,361,665 shares in the last quarter. 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.