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Progressive (PGR) Q1 Earnings Top Estimates, Premiums Up Y/Y
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The Progressive Corporation (PGR - Free Report) first-quarter 2018 operating earnings per share of $1.22 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.18. The bottom line soared 82.1% year over year.
Progressive recorded net premiums written of $7.9 billion in the quarter under review, up 23% from $6.5 billion in the year-ago quarter. Also, net premiums earned grew 19% year over year to $7.2 billion from $6 billion.
Net realized loss on securities was $48.2 million against a gain of $51.9 million in the year-earlier quarter. Combined ratio — percentage of premiums paid out as claims and expenses — improved 330 basis points (bps) from the prior-year quarter to 88.4%.
Operating revenues improved 19.3% year over year to $7.5 billion. This top-line growth was driven by a 20% increase in service revenues, 22% higher fees and other revenues, 19% rise in premiums earned and 29% higher investment income.
Total expense increased 14.8% to nearly $6.5 billion. This increase in expenses can be primarily attributed to 14.2% higher loss and loss adjustment expenses, 18.6% increase in policy acquisition costs, 15.9% higher other underwriting expenses, 7.1% increase in investment expenses and 13.1% higher service expenses.
Numbers in March 2018
In March, policies in force were impressive at the Personal Auto segment, improving 14% from last March to 12.3 million. Special Lines inched up 1% from the prior-year month to 4.3 million.
In Progressive’s Personal Auto segment, Direct Auto grew 15% year over year to 6.4 million while Agency Auto improved 13% year over year to 5.9 million.
Progressive’s Commercial Auto segment grew 8% year over year to 0.7 million. The Property business had about 1.7 million policies in force in the reported month, up 30% year over year.
Progressive’s book value per share was $16.88 as of Mar 31, 2018, up 15.1% from $14.67 as of Mar 31, 2017.
Return-on-equity on a trailing 12-month basis was 21.0%, having expanded 360 bps from 17.4% in March 2017. Debt-to-total capital ratio expanded 50 bps year over year to 27.2% as of Mar 31, 2018.
Investors interested in other top-ranked stocks from the same space can also consider RLI Corp. (RLI - Free Report) , American Financial Group, Inc. (AFG - Free Report) and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B - Free Report) , each holding a Zacks Rank of 2.
RLI Corp. is set to release first-quarter 2018 earnings on Apr 18 and the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current quarter is pegged at 52 cents per share, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 18.2%.
American Financial is slated to release first-quarter 2018 earnings on May 2 and the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current quarter is pegged at $1.94 per share, registering a year-over-year rise of 14.8%.
Berkshire Hathaway is expected to release its first-quarter 2018 earnings on May 4 and the consensus mark for the current quarter stands at $2.01 per share, representing year-over-year growth of 39.6%.
Breaking News: Cryptocurrencies Now Bigger Than Visa
The total market cap of all cryptos recently surpassed $700 billion – more than a 3,800% increase in the previous 12 months. They’re now bigger than Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and even Visa! The new asset class may expand even more rapidly in 2018 as new investors continue pouring in and Wall Street becomes increasingly involved.
Zacks has just named 4 companies that enable investors to take advantage of the explosive growth of cryptocurrencies via the stock market.
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Progressive (PGR) Q1 Earnings Top Estimates, Premiums Up Y/Y
The Progressive Corporation (PGR - Free Report) first-quarter 2018 operating earnings per share of $1.22 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.18. The bottom line soared 82.1% year over year.
Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Quote
Behind the Headlines
Progressive recorded net premiums written of $7.9 billion in the quarter under review, up 23% from $6.5 billion in the year-ago quarter. Also, net premiums earned grew 19% year over year to $7.2 billion from $6 billion.
Net realized loss on securities was $48.2 million against a gain of $51.9 million in the year-earlier quarter. Combined ratio — percentage of premiums paid out as claims and expenses — improved 330 basis points (bps) from the prior-year quarter to 88.4%.
Operating revenues improved 19.3% year over year to $7.5 billion. This top-line growth was driven by a 20% increase in service revenues, 22% higher fees and other revenues, 19% rise in premiums earned and 29% higher investment income.
Total expense increased 14.8% to nearly $6.5 billion. This increase in expenses can be primarily attributed to 14.2% higher loss and loss adjustment expenses, 18.6% increase in policy acquisition costs, 15.9% higher other underwriting expenses, 7.1% increase in investment expenses and 13.1% higher service expenses.
Numbers in March 2018
In March, policies in force were impressive at the Personal Auto segment, improving 14% from last March to 12.3 million. Special Lines inched up 1% from the prior-year month to 4.3 million.
In Progressive’s Personal Auto segment, Direct Auto grew 15% year over year to 6.4 million while Agency Auto improved 13% year over year to 5.9 million.
Progressive’s Commercial Auto segment grew 8% year over year to 0.7 million. The Property business had about 1.7 million policies in force in the reported month, up 30% year over year.
Progressive’s book value per share was $16.88 as of Mar 31, 2018, up 15.1% from $14.67 as of Mar 31, 2017.
Return-on-equity on a trailing 12-month basis was 21.0%, having expanded 360 bps from 17.4% in March 2017. Debt-to-total capital ratio expanded 50 bps year over year to 27.2% as of Mar 31, 2018.
Zacks Rank
Progressive carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Insurance Stocks Worth a Look
Investors interested in other top-ranked stocks from the same space can also consider RLI Corp. (RLI - Free Report) , American Financial Group, Inc. (AFG - Free Report) and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B - Free Report) , each holding a Zacks Rank of 2.
RLI Corp. is set to release first-quarter 2018 earnings on Apr 18 and the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current quarter is pegged at 52 cents per share, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 18.2%.
American Financial is slated to release first-quarter 2018 earnings on May 2 and the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current quarter is pegged at $1.94 per share, registering a year-over-year rise of 14.8%.
Berkshire Hathaway is expected to release its first-quarter 2018 earnings on May 4 and the consensus mark for the current quarter stands at $2.01 per share, representing year-over-year growth of 39.6%.
Breaking News: Cryptocurrencies Now Bigger Than Visa
The total market cap of all cryptos recently surpassed $700 billion – more than a 3,800% increase in the previous 12 months. They’re now bigger than Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and even Visa! The new asset class may expand even more rapidly in 2018 as new investors continue pouring in and Wall Street becomes increasingly involved.
Zacks has just named 4 companies that enable investors to take advantage of the explosive growth of cryptocurrencies via the stock market.
Click here to access these stocks >>