In the latest trading session, Progressive (PGR) closed at $259.67, marking a -2.38% move from the previous day. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.25%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.31%.
The stock of insurer has fallen by 4.57% in the past month, lagging the Finance sector's gain of 3.26% and the S&P 500's gain of 5.05%.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Progressive in its upcoming release. On that day, Progressive is projected to report earnings of $4.11 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 55.09%. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $21.52 billion, indicating a 17.86% upward movement from the same quarter last year.
For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $16.52 per share and a revenue of $87.54 billion, signifying shifts of +17.58% and +16.55%, respectively, from the last year.
Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Progressive. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the business and profitability.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 2.68% higher. Progressive is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Looking at valuation, Progressive is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 16.1. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 11.93, which means Progressive is trading at a premium to the group.
Investors should also note that PGR has a PEG ratio of 1.64 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. The Insurance - Property and Casualty was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.72 at yesterday's closing price.
The Insurance - Property and Casualty industry is part of the Finance sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 42, putting it in the top 18% 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.
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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