Following Progressive Corp. (NYSE:PGR) August update, analysts at Roth MKM and William Blair believe the company is making progress and showing improvements.
Roth MKM analysts said in a note Monday that while it is difficult to know when the company will turn the corner on auto losses, "it will happen."
"Progressive reported operating income of $0.36 per share for August 2023 against our estimate of $0.50. Catastrophe losses accounted for the difference between our more aggressive estimate against the actual report and more specifically Hurricane Idalia," the analysts explained, maintaining a Buy rating and $165 price target on the stock.
At William Blair, analysts said the results showed a "good underlying improvement."
"August results continued to indicate a re-strengthening of the underlying auto book," said the analysts, who kept an Outperform rating on PGR shares.
"Given that the key components of severity are showing signs of cooling and the impact of actions to improve margins should continue to earn through, we expect to see more material improvement later in the year and into 2024. This suggests earnings per share can reach the $8.50 to $9.00 level by 2024," they concluded.