3 Reasons Growth Investors Will Love Progressive (PGR)

Core Viewpoint - Investors are seeking growth stocks that can deliver above-average growth and exceptional returns, but identifying such stocks is challenging due to inherent volatility and risks [1] Group 1: Growth Stock Identification - The Zacks Growth Style Score system aids in identifying promising growth stocks by analyzing real growth prospects beyond traditional metrics [2] - Progressive (PGR) is highlighted as a recommended stock with a favorable Growth Score and a top Zacks Rank [2] Group 2: Earnings Growth - Earnings growth is a critical factor for growth investors, with double-digit growth being particularly attractive [4] - Progressive's historical EPS growth rate is 7.5%, but projected EPS growth for this year is 4.5%, surpassing the industry average of 4.2% [5] Group 3: Asset Utilization - The asset utilization ratio, or sales-to-total-assets (S/TA) ratio, is an important metric for assessing a growth stock's efficiency [6] - Progressive's S/TA ratio is 0.75, indicating it generates $0.75 in sales for every dollar in assets, significantly higher than the industry average of 0.35 [6] Group 4: Sales Growth - Sales growth is another key indicator, with Progressive expected to achieve a 16.6% sales growth this year, compared to the industry average of 7.3% [7] Group 5: Earnings Estimate Revisions - Positive trends in earnings estimate revisions correlate strongly with stock price movements [8] - The current-year earnings estimates for Progressive have increased by 4.6% over the past month, indicating positive momentum [8] Group 6: Overall Assessment - Progressive has earned a Growth Score of A and a Zacks Rank 2 due to positive earnings estimate revisions, suggesting it is a solid choice for growth investors [10]