Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Price Target Cut to $319.00 by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its price objective cut by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $327.00 to $319.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target suggests a potential upside of 15.67% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their price target on Progressive from $264.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Progressive from $300.00 to $288.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.71.

Progressive Stock Up 1.0 %

Progressive stock opened at $275.78 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $161.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.15, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38. Progressive has a 52-week low of $201.34 and a 52-week high of $292.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.31. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $271.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $257.20.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. Equities analysts predict that Progressive will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 11,021 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total value of $2,681,299.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 473,736 shares in the company, valued at $115,255,231.44. This represents a 2.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 1,542 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.66, for a total transaction of $435,861.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 268,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,759,663.84. This trade represents a 0.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,317 shares of company stock worth $14,844,282 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Progressive by 98.2% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 789 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $189,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Progressive by 2,262.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 433,999 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $103,990,000 after purchasing an additional 415,628 shares during the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 42.3% during the 4th quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 11,889 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,849,000 after purchasing an additional 3,534 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 30.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,069,697 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $255,882,000 after buying an additional 249,958 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new position in Progressive during the third quarter valued at about $35,253,000. 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.