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Progressive (PGR) Advances While Market Declines: Some Information for Investors

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In the latest market close, Progressive (PGR - Free Report) reached $256.99, with a +0.18% movement compared to the previous day. The stock outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a daily loss of 0.19%. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.7%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.04%.

Heading into today, shares of the insurer had gained 4.47% over the past month, outpacing the Finance sector's gain of 1.52% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.95% in that time.

The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Progressive in its forthcoming earnings report. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $3.22, reflecting a 54.07% increase from the same quarter last year. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $18.92 billion, indicating a 20.44% upward movement from the same quarter last year.

For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $12.90 per share and a revenue of $73.91 billion, demonstrating changes of +111.13% and +19.69%, respectively, from the preceding year.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Progressive. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the company's business operations and its ability to generate profits.

Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. To take advantage of this, we've established the Zacks Rank, an exclusive model that considers these estimated changes and delivers an operational rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed a 5.72% increase. Progressive currently has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Investors should also note Progressive's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 19.9. This signifies a premium in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 13.72 for its industry.

One should further note that PGR currently holds a PEG ratio of 0.72. 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. As the market closed yesterday, the Insurance - Property and Casualty industry was having an average PEG ratio of 1.5.

The Insurance - Property and Casualty industry is part of the Finance sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 19, placing it within the top 8% of over 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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