The Progressive Corporation Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.10 (NYSE:PGR)

The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be paid a dividend of 0.10 per share by the insurance provider on Friday, April 10th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 2nd.

Progressive has increased its dividend by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years. Progressive has a dividend payout ratio of 2.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Progressive to earn $15.40 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 2.6%.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $200.98 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.35. Progressive has a 52-week low of $197.92 and a 52-week high of $289.96. The company has a fifty day moving average of $205.69 and a 200-day moving average of $218.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 0.33.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PGR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Progressive from $216.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. William Blair downgraded Progressive from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Progressive from $214.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Progressive from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $239.22.

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.