The IBD SmartSelect Composite Rating for Progressive increased from 94 to 96 Tuesday.
The new score tells you the company is now outperforming 96% of all stocks in terms of the most important fundamental and technical stock-picking criteria. Winning stocks often have a 95 or higher score in the early stages of a new price run, so that's an important benchmark to look for when looking for the best stocks to buy and watch.
Progressive has now climbed above a proper buy zone after clearing the 149.87 entry in a consolidation. Best now to look for another opportunity either on a pull-back to your favorite moving average, or a new pattern is formed. This will then give a clear entry point.
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PGR Earnings
One weak spot is the company's 79 EPS Rating, which tracks quarterly and annual earnings-per-share growth. Look for that to improve to 80 or better to show it's in the top 20% of all stocks.
Its Accumulation/Distribution Rating of D- shows moderate selling by institutional investors over the last 13 weeks. Look for the rating to improve to at least a C or better.
In Q3, the company reported 845% earnings-per-share growth. Top line growth came in at 22%, down from 33% in the previous quarter.
Progressive holds the No. 10 rank among its peers in the Insurance-Property/Casualty/Title industry group. Everest Group, Greenlight Cap Re Cl A and Arch Capital Group are among the top 5 highly-rated stocks within the group.
