Progressive (PGR) closed at $260.33 in the latest trading session, marking a -2.05% move from the prior day. The stock trailed the S&P 500, which registered a daily loss of 0.03%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw a downswing of 0.11%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq appreciated by 0.13%.
Heading into today, shares of the insurer had lost 6.95% over the past month, lagging the Finance sector's loss of 1.73% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.6%.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Progressive in its upcoming release. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $3.94, showcasing a 48.68% upward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $21.53 billion, reflecting a 17.92% rise from the equivalent quarter last year.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $16.17 per share and revenue of $87.6 billion, which would represent changes of +15.09% and +16.63%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Progressive. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the business outlook.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed a 2.32% increase. Progressive currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Looking at valuation, Progressive is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 16.44. This signifies a premium in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 11.55 for its industry.
Meanwhile, PGR's PEG ratio is currently 1.67. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. Insurance - Property and Casualty stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2.71 based on yesterday's closing prices.
The Insurance - Property and Casualty industry is part of the Finance sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 54, positioning it in the top 22% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to use Zacks.com to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming 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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