The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Short Interest Update

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,280,000 shares, a decline of 16.2% from the October 31st total of 5,110,000 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,280,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Insider Activity

In other Progressive news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 7,696 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.21, for a total transaction of $1,964,096.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,876,384.69. This trade represents a 33.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.20, for a total transaction of $10,937,914.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,735 shares in the company, valued at $119,475,967. This trade represents a 8.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 59,209 shares of company stock worth $14,975,979 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Progressive by 20.9% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 237 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Progressive by 16.5% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 296 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Castleview Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 2.7% during the third quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,712 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $434,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 4.6% in the third quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 1,024 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its stake in Progressive by 21.3% in the second quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 262 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on PGR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $242.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Progressive from $281.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. HSBC raised Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $253.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Progressive from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Progressive from $267.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $269.81.

Progressive Stock Performance

Progressive stock opened at $268.88 on Monday. Progressive has a 1-year low of $149.14 and a 1-year high of $270.62. The company’s 50-day moving average is $254.08 and its 200 day moving average is $233.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.18. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 11.27%. The firm had revenue of $19.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.95 billion. Research analysts forecast that Progressive will post 13.2 EPS for the current year.

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.