Progressive missed earnings estimates for the third quarter Friday, but net premiums jumped. PGR stock soared above a buy point.
Following the Q3 report, Piper Sandler analyst Paul Newsome upgraded Progressive stock to buy from neutral with a Street-high price target of $186, up from $133.
Six other firms raised price targets on the insurance stock Friday, while one cut, FactSet shows.
The analyst now expects Progressive earnings growth to outpace revenue growth, at almost 40% in 2024 and 27% in 2025. The firm also believes that "all the personal lines writers it follows will show underlying underwriting improvement," with both pricing and profitability improving, per The Fly.
Progressive Earnings
On a per-share basis, Progressive earnings vaulted 233%, year over year, to $1.64, according to FactSet.
The property and casualty insurer slightly missed consensus earnings estimates for $1.72 per share, FactSet shows, while posting its first earnings gain in three quarters.
But the Mayfield Village, Ohio, company beat on net premiums written for September and Q3. For that key metric, Progressive reported a 20% gain, year over year, to $15.594 billion during the quarter.
Net premiums written measures the share of premiums an insurer gets to keep for assuming risk.
PGR Stock Gaps Up, Breaks Out
Shares of Progressive gapped up 8.1% to 154.95 in big volume on the stock market today.
The earnings move sent PGR stock above a handle buy point at 144.31, the MarketSmith chart also shows. The six-month-long cup-with-handle base is 26% deep, well within the 33% maximum for most bases.
Progressive's insurance rival Allstate and Travelers gained Friday. Berkshire Hathaway, which has a big insurance arm, eased a fraction.
