In the latest trading session, Progressive (PGR) closed at $194.55, marking a -1.2% move from the previous day. The stock fell short of the S&P 500, which registered a gain of 0.58% for the day. Elsewhere, the Dow saw an upswing of 0.05%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq appreciated by 0.91%.
Shares of the insurer witnessed a loss of 1.87% over the previous month, trailing the performance of the Finance sector with its gain of 1.37%, and the S&P 500's gain of 4.96%.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Progressive in its upcoming release. In that report, analysts expect Progressive to post earnings of $3.76 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 22.95%. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $22.88 billion, indicating a 5.84% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $16.37 per share and a revenue of $92.51 billion, demonstrating changes of -10.3% and +6.4%, respectively, from the preceding year.
Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for Progressive. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the business and profitability.
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, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.11% lower. At present, Progressive boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Progressive has a Forward P/E ratio of 12.03 right now. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 10.54, so one might conclude that Progressive is trading at a premium comparatively.
Investors should also note that PGR has a PEG ratio of 7.2 right now. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. Insurance - Property and Casualty stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2.37 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 84, positioning it in the top 35% 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 Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).