Progressive (PGR) closed the most recent trading day at $212.12, moving -6.85% from the previous trading session. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.19%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.66%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.03%.
The insurer's shares have seen an increase of 0.28% over the last month, not keeping up with the Finance sector's gain of 2.08% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.54%.
The upcoming earnings release of Progressive will be of great interest to investors. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $4.46, indicating a 9.31% growth compared to the equivalent quarter last year. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $21.95 billion, indicating a 8% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.
For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $17.97 per share and a revenue of $86.28 billion, representing changes of +27.9% and 0%, respectively, from the prior year.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Progressive. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the business outlook.
Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 2.04% lower within the past month. As of now, Progressive holds a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In terms of valuation, Progressive is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 13.81. This expresses a premium compared to the average Forward P/E of 10.6 of its industry.
Investors should also note that PGR has a PEG ratio of 1.38 right now. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Insurance - Property and Casualty industry held an average PEG ratio of 1.55.
The Insurance - Property and Casualty industry is part of the Finance sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 44, this industry ranks in the top 18% of all industries, numbering over 250.
The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
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The Progressive Corporation (PGR): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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