Jefferies Financial Group Increases Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Price Target to $245.00

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its target price increased by Jefferies Financial Group from $241.00 to $245.00 in a report published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on PGR. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $161.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $171.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $232.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $228.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Progressive from $265.00 to $264.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $211.88.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $209.75 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $122.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Progressive has a 12 month low of $111.41 and a 12 month high of $212.24. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $199.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $174.57.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $18.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Progressive will post 11.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.26, for a total value of $5,645,965.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,859.14. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was 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 approximately $6,128,485.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 value 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 Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sachetta LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Northwest Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 109.1% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 207 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in Progressive by 143.6% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 190 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Progressive in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.