Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Trading Down 3.9% – Should You Sell?

The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) dropped 3.9% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $218.83 and last traded at $222.6560. Approximately 489,422 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 3,238,872 shares. The stock had previously closed at $231.81.

Key Stores Impacting Progressive

Here are the key news stories impacting Progressive this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target on PGR to $250 (from $246) while keeping a “market perform” rating — a modest vote of confidence that suggests limited upside from current levels. Keefe raises PGR price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerage consensus remains tepid: aggregate analyst ratings are around “Hold,” indicating no broad bullish catalyst from the sell-side. PGR Given Average Rating of “Hold”
• Neutral Sentiment: BMO Capital trimmed its price target slightly (to $253 from $256) but kept a “market perform” view — a small technical adjustment that keeps the street expectation largely unchanged. BMO trims PGR price target
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s recent note (highlighted by analysts) reiterates a sell stance, citing decelerating growth, rising competition and reduced buyback activity — this is a material negative for investor expectations and likely a primary driver of downside pressure. Morgan Stanley maintains sell on PGR
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage notes recent intraday weakness—Zacks highlights a recent pullback despite broader market gains, reflecting short-term selling pressure and investor concern. Zacks: PGR stock drops despite market gains
• Negative Sentiment: A recent analysis raises the possibility that a dividend-related windfall and a sector downgrade could alter the investment case for Progressive, suggesting macro/sector forces may reduce the stock’s appeal to income and value-oriented investors. Yahoo: Dividend windfall and sector downgrade analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Search and attention metrics show elevated investor interest (Zacks summary), which can increase near-term volatility but doesn’t change fundamentals on its own. Zacks: Investors heavily search PGR

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PGR shares. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday, September 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price target on Progressive from $301.38 to $300.60 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Progressive from $275.00 to $273.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Progressive from $247.00 to $242.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Progressive from $271.00 to $257.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $264.68.

Progressive Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $223.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $241.60. The stock has a market cap of $131.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.36.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.04 by ($0.59). The company had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.64 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.88% and a net margin of 12.57%.During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.58 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 2.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,345 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.29, for a total value of $307,050.05. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 27,698 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,323,176.42. This represents a 4.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 5,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.48, for a total transaction of $1,142,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 223,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,956,523.52. This trade represents a 2.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,690 shares of company stock worth $1,745,350. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Davis Capital Management bought a new position in Progressive during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 106.6% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 126 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 900.0% during the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 130 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

About Progressive

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.