Progressive (PGR) closed the most recent trading day at $213.15, moving +1.94% from the previous trading session. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.01%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.55%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.44%.
The insurer's shares have seen a decrease of 6.15% over the last month, not keeping up with the Finance sector's gain of 1.95% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.86%.
The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Progressive in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $4.46, indicating a 9.31% growth compared to the equivalent quarter last year. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $21.95 billion, up 8% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $17.97 per share and revenue of $86.37 billion, which would represent changes of +27.9% and 0%, respectively, from the prior year.
Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for Progressive. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the business performance and profit potential.
Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
The Zacks Rank system, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 1.9% lower. Progressive is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Looking at valuation, Progressive is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 12.68. This represents a premium compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 10.56.
We can additionally observe that PGR currently boasts a PEG ratio of 1.27. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. PGR's industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.15 as of yesterday's close.
The Insurance - Property and Casualty industry is part of the Finance sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 111, which puts it in the top 46% of all 250+ industries.
The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding trading sessions.
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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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