HSBC Boosts Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Price Target to $200.00

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its price target raised by research analysts at HSBC from $174.00 to $200.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. HSBC’s price target indicates a potential downside of 3.40% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Progressive from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Raymond James downgraded Progressive from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 12th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Progressive from $192.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Progressive from $256.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their price objective on Progressive from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $186.50.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of Progressive stock traded up $0.88 on Thursday, hitting $207.03. 1,135,620 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,473,246. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. Progressive has a 52 week low of $111.41 and a 52 week high of $208.19. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $188.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $167.00.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The insurance provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.53. Progressive had a net margin of 6.28% and a return on equity of 21.25%. The firm had revenue of $16.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Progressive will post 9.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 13,110 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.26, for a total transaction of $2,127,228.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 465,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,570,485.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 13,110 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.26, for a total value of $2,127,228.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 465,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,570,485.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,859.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 58,949 shares of company stock valued at $10,671,740. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth about $1,078,831,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $840,885,000. Viking Global Investors LP grew its position in Progressive by 412.0% during the fourth quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 5,863,559 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $933,948,000 after buying an additional 4,718,237 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Progressive by 14.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 21,554,503 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,002,542,000 after buying an additional 2,666,449 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its position in Progressive by 25.4% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,721,345 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $871,826,000 after buying an additional 1,361,665 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

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.