The Progressive Corporation, an insurance holding company, provides personal and commercial auto, personal residential and commercial property, business related general liability, and other specialty property-casualty insurance products and related services in the United States. It operates in three segments: Personal Lines, Commercial Lines, and Property. The Personal Lines segment writes insurance for personal autos and recreational vehicles (RV). This segment's products include personal auto insurance; and special lines products, including insurance for motorcycles, ATVs, RVs, watercrafts, snowmobiles, and related products. The Commercial Lines segment provides auto-related liability and physical damage insurance, and business-related general liability and property insurance for autos, vans, and pick-up trucks used by small businesses, as well as non-fleet taxis, black-car services, and airport taxis; tractors, trailers, and straight trucks primarily used by regional general freight and expeditor-type businesses, and long-haul operators; dump trucks used by light contractors and heavy constructions; log trucks and garbage trucks used by dirt, sand and gravel, logging, garbage/debris removal, and coal-type businesses; and tow trucks and wreckers used in towing services and gas/service station businesses. The Property segment writes residential property insurance for homeowners, other property owners, and renters, as well as offers manufactured homes, personal umbrella insurance, and primary and excess flood insurance. The company offers policy issuance and claims adjusting services; acts as an agent to homeowners, general liability, workers' compensation insurance, and other products; and reinsurance services. It sells its products through independent insurance agencies, as well as through mobile applications and over the phone. The Progressive Corporation was founded in 1937 and is headquartered in Mayfield Village, Ohio.

Компания Progressive Corporation демонстрирует смешанную картину по фундаментальным метрикам. С одной стороны, P/E и P/B находятся выше медианы отрасли, что может свидетельствовать о переоцененности. Тем не менее, показатели ROE и ROI значительно превышают отралевые средние, что указывает на высокую эффективность управления капиталом. Долговая нагрузка, выраженная через debt/equity ratio, ниже медианы, что является положительным фактором. Однако, текущий и быстрый коэффициенты ликвидности находятся на критически низком уровне, что вызывает озабоченность по поводу финансовой устойчивости. Дивидендная доходность на уровне 0.05% не привлекает инвесторов, однако рост выручки и чистой прибыли положительно сказываются на оценке. В целом, компания имеет сильные стороны в области прибыльности, но риски, связанные с ликвидностью и высокими мультипликаторами, требуют осторожного подхода к оценке ее акций.

Progressive Corporation (The)

The Travelers Companies, Inc. TRV is one of the leading writers of auto and homeowners’ insurance, as well as commercial U.S. property-casualty insurance. The insurer is poised to grow on strong pricing momentum, as the company continues to implement rate increases across its business and personal insurance segments to offset inflationary pressures.
Shares of Travelers have gained 15.7% over the past year, outperforming its industry’s 5% decline over the same period. The stock has also surpassed the broader Finance sector, which has recorded a 15.7% gain over the past year. It has a market capitalization of $65.4 billion.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Shares of other insurers, such as The Allstate Corporation ALL and Arch Capital Group Ltd. ACGL, are also outperforming the industry average, while The Progressive Corporation PGR has underperformed the industry.
TRV Shares are Expensive
Its shares are trading at a premium to the Zacks Property and Casualty Insurance industry. Its price-to-book value of 2.05X is higher than the industry average of 1.38X. However, TRV has a Value Score of A.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Shares of Allstate, Arch Capital, and Progressive are also trading at multiples above the industry average. Their price-to-book ratios are 1.86x, 1.46x and 3.97x, respectively.
Zacks Estimates for TRV
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 revenues is pegged at $50.1 billion, suggesting 2.6% year-over-year growth. The consensus estimate for earnings per share is currently pegged at $27.2 for 2026, indicating a 1.6% year-over-year decline.
Over the past month, the company has witnessed three upward revisions in earnings estimates, with no revisions in the opposite direction.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
While the 2026 earnings estimate for The ALL and The PGR has moved northward over the past 30 days, the same for ACGL has moved south during the same period.
Factors Favoring Travelers
Auto insurance premiums have risen due to higher repair costs, risky driving, more litigation and increased claims. However, growth is expected to slow as insurers tighten underwriting and offer more customized, competitively priced policies. The homeowners insurance market still faces challenges from catastrophic losses, insurer withdrawals in high-risk areas and high premiums. Despite this, Travelers remains optimistic due to stricter underwriting, improving claims trends and more bundled auto-home policies.
Travelers’ investment income has grown steadily over the past five years, driven by strong returns from its expanding fixed-income portfolio and improved performance from non-fixed income investments. As a property-casualty insurer, Travelers favors fixed-income securities for stable and predictable cash flows to support claims payments. Approximately 94% of its investment portfolio is allocated to fixed maturities and short-term investments.
In line with the industry's ongoing technological transformation, Travelers has been harnessing cutting-edge technologies, including artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, data analytics, and cloud computing, to enhance its underwriting, claims handling, customer experience and risk management capabilities. As part of its commitment to innovation, Travelers plans to invest more than $1 billion annually in technology to support continued advancement and operational efficiency.
The company maintains a strong balance sheet, with statutory capital and surplus of $31.06 billion at the end of 2025. Total capital returned to shareholders was $4.18 billion, comprising $3.2 billion of share repurchases and $987 million of dividends for the same period. Also, the board of directors approved a $5 billion share buyback program.
Conclusion
Despite trading at a premium to the industry, Travelers’ strong position in U.S. auto, homeowners, and commercial property-casualty insurance provides a solid base for future growth. Its history of strategic acquisitions further strengthens its market presence. Continued improvement in renewal rates, high customer retention and growth in new business — supported by a diversified portfolio and strong capital position — are expected to drive stable earnings growth.
TRV has a track record of 21 consecutive years of dividend increases, with a compound annual growth rate of 8% over that period. Its current dividend yield of 1.5% is much better than the industry average of 0.3%, making it an attractive pick for yield-seeking investors.
Given the premium valuation and near-term earnings pressure, it is better to stay cautious about this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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TRV Stock Up 4% YTD, Trades at 2.05X P/B: What Should Investors Know?

A month has gone by since the last earnings report for CNA Financial (CNA). Shares have lost about 2.5% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.
But investors have to be wondering, will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is CNA Financial due for a breakout? Well, first let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the recent drivers for CNA Financial Corporation before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late.
CNA Financial Q4 Earnings & Revenues Miss Estimates, Dividend Raised
CNA Financial reported fourth-quarter 2025 core earnings of $1.16 per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.3%. The bottom line decreased 7.2% year over year.
The quarterly results of CNA reflected higher premiums, improved investment income and decreased catastrophe losses, partially offset by lower underlying underwriting income and higher expenses.
Behind Q4 Headlines
Total operating revenues of CNA Financial were $3.4 billion, up 3.8% year over year, due to higher premiums and net investment income. The top line missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.2%.
Net written premiums of Property & Casualty Operations increased 2% year over year to $2.8 billion. The new business was flat.
Net investment income rose 1.4% year over year to $653 million. The increase was driven by higher income from fixed income securities as a result of a larger invested asset base and favorable reinvestment rates, partially offset by lower common stock returns. Our estimate for net investment was $721.2 million. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at $721 million.
Total claims, benefits and expenses increased 6% to $3.4 billion, primarily due to higher insurance claims and policyholders’ benefits, amortization of deferred acquisition costs, non-insurance warranty expense, other operating expenses, and interest expense. Our estimate was $3.5 billion.
Catastrophe losses were $40 million, narrower than a loss of $45 million in the year-ago quarter. Underlying underwriting income declined 7% year over year to $207 million.
The combined ratio deteriorated 70 basis points (bps) year over year to 93.8. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at 85, while our estimate was 85.3.
Segment Results
Specialty’s net written premiums decreased 2% year over year to $914 million. Our estimate was $973.5 million. The combined ratio deteriorated 520 bps to 99. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at 83.
Commercial’s net written premiums increased 4% year over year to $1.5 billion. Our estimate was $1.5 billion. The combined ratio deteriorated 20 bps to 92.5. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at 87.
International’s net written premiums increased 1% year over year to $371 million. Our estimate was $359.9 million. The combined ratio improved 950 bps to 85.3. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at 86.
Life & Group’s net earned premiums were $105 million, down 2.7% year over year. Our estimate was $103.8 million. The core loss was $29 million versus income of $18 million earned in the year-ago quarter. Core loss increased primarily due to unfavorable persistency experience.
Corporate & Other’s core loss of $103 million was wider than a loss of $91 million incurred in the year-earlier quarter.
Financial Update
The core return on equity contracted 90 bps year over year to 10%. Book value per share was $42.93, up 10.5% from year-end 2024. Statutory capital and surplus for the Combined Continental Casualty Companies were $11.6 billion at the end of 2025, up 3.7% from 2024-end. Net cash flow provided by operating activities decreased 18.9% to $570 million in 2025.
Dividend Update
CNA Financial’s board of directors approved a quarterly dividend of 48 cents per share, up 4% from the earlier payout. The dividend will be paid out on March 12 to shareholders of record as of Feb. 23. It also approved a special dividend of $2.00 per share.
Full-Year Update
For 2025, core earnings of CNA Financial were $4.93 per share. The bottom line increased 2% from the 2024 figure. The bottom line missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.6%. Revenues for the year totaled $13.4 billion, which increased 5.8% from the 2024 level. The top line missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.2%.
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?
It turns out, estimates revision have trended upward during the past month.
VGM Scores
At this time, CNA Financial has a poor Growth Score of F, a grade with the same score on the momentum front. However, the stock was allocated a score of A on the value side, putting it in the top 20% for this investment strategy.
Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of D. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.
Estimates have been trending upward for the stock, and the magnitude of this revision looks promising. Interestingly, CNA Financial has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.
Performance of an Industry Player
CNA Financial belongs to the Zacks Insurance - Property and Casualty industry. Another stock from the same industry, Progressive (PGR), has gained 2.2% over the past month. More than a month has passed since the company reported results for the quarter ended December 2025.
Progressive reported revenues of $22.49 billion in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +10.6%. EPS of $4.67 for the same period compares with $4.08 a year ago.
For the current quarter, Progressive is expected to post earnings of $4.68 per share, indicating a change of +0.7% from the year-ago quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed +7.6% over the last 30 days.
Progressive has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) based on the overall direction and magnitude of estimate revisions. Additionally, the stock has a VGM Score of B.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Why Is CNA Financial (CNA) Down 2.5% Since Last Earnings Report?

The Board of Directors of Park Aerospace has declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.125 per share payable May 4, 2026 to shareholders of record at the close of business on April 2, 2026. Park has paid 41 consecutive years of uninterrupted regular, quarterly cash dividends, without ever skipping a dividend payment or reducing the amount of the dividend. The Company has paid $611.0 million in cash dividends, or $29.85 per share, since the beginning of the Company's 2005 fiscal year.
In accordance with the Company's dividend policy, the ZIM Integrated Shipping Services' Board of Directors declared a regular cash dividend of approximately $106 million, or $0.88 per ordinary share. Together with prior dividend distributions made in respect to the year of 2025, dividend distributions for the year will total $240 million, or $1.99 per ordinary share, reflecting approximately 50% of 2025 net income. The dividend will be paid on March 26, 2026, to holders of record of ordinary ZIM shares as of March 20, 2026.
On March 6, 2026, the Board of Directors of Progressive declared a $0.10 per common share dividend, payable April 10, 2026, to shareholders of record at the close of business on April 2, 2026.
Hooker Furnishings announced that on March 5, 2026, its board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.115 per share, payable on March 31, 2026, to shareholders of record on March 16, 2026.
VIDEO: Daily Dividend Report: PKE,ZIM,PGR,HOFT
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Daily Dividend Report: PKE,ZIM,PGR,HOFT

Key Points
Lemonade reported its Q4 earnings in February.
The company is growing quickly but losing money.
Shares of Lemonade stock are still expensive even after this recent collapse.
Shares of Lemonade (NYSE: LMND) sank a whopping 40% in February, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. The high-flying insurer, trying to disrupt the legacy market, posted fourth-quarter earnings that disappointed investors. Shares of the stock are still up close to 70% in the last year, marking a huge run for Lemonade shareholders.
Here's why the stock sank in February, and whether now is a good time to buy the dip for your own portfolio.
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No profits and a premium valuation
Lemonade has sought to disrupt traditional consumer insurance markets, such as renters, home, and car insurance, through an easy-to-use online platform. With lower overhead costs, the company believes it can offer insurance rates lower than the competition's and still generate profits.
So far, it has been able to use its lower pricing to drive customers to its services. In-force premiums -- a topline metric for an insurer such as Lemonade -- totaled $1.24 billion last quarter, up 31% year over year. More customers are joining Lemonade for its various insurance offerings, driving strong topline growth.
The problem is, the company is failing to turn this premium into a profit, with a net loss yet again in Q4. Management claims this is due to its reinvestments for growth, but investors are nervous that it is gaining market share without actually building a sustainable insurance operation.
What's more, Lemonade's valuation was high going into the Q4 earnings report, with a price-to-book value (P/B) of 14. This is the best metric for valuing an insurance operator, and it was quite the premium. Lemonade still trades at a P/B of 7.9 as of this writing.
Time to buy Lemonade stock?
After falling 40%, Lemonade trades at a cheaper, but still not cheap, P/B of 7.9. The company has consistently destroyed book value by losing money over the years, but last quarter it stemmed the tide, with book value per share flattening instead of declining. If this were to reverse and the company starts generating excess capital, perhaps the business will start generating value for shareholders.
Lemonade is a fast-growing business, and if it can keep up this fast growth and exhibit some levels of operating leverage, the stock might be a buy today. However, shares still trade at a premium vs. the rest of the insurance market. For example, Progressive trades at a P/B of 4.1, and it is the best operator in the industry. Lemonade remains a risky stock to add to your portfolio right now.
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Brett Schafer has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Lemonade and Progressive. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Why Shares of Lemonade Stock Tanked 40.3% Last Month

Earnings, Earnings, and (You Guessed It) More Earnings

Key Points
Billionaire Investor Ole Andreas Halvorsen worked for Julian Robertson's Tiger Management in the 1990s as the director of equities.
Several research analysts from Tiger Management, including Halvorsen, went on to launch successful funds.
Halvorsen's fund, Viking Global Investors, sold some big names in the fourth quarter of 2025 and piled into a more traditional sector.
In the 1990s, a group of research analysts worked at a prominent hedge fund, Tiger Management, led by the legendary investor Julian Robertson. After Tiger closed down, many of these analysts went on to found their own funds, most of which heavily focused on the burgeoning tech sector. This group of investors that spun off from Tiger Management are known as the Tiger Cubs.
One of, if not the most successful, in this group is the billionaire investor Ole Andreas Halvorsen, who hails from Norway and served as the director of equities at Tiger Management in the 1990s. Today, Halvorsen runs the hedge fund, Viking Global Investors, which manages over $37.6 billion in assets at the end of 2025.
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In the fourth quarter of 2025, Viking made notable changes to its portfolio, exiting its positions in Nike (NYSE: NKE), Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX), and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) and piling into three insurance stocks.
Selling Nike, Netflix, and Meta
Nike, Netflix, and Meta had all been notable positions in Viking's portfolio, accounting for about 5% of the fund's capital. Each company experienced significant developments in 2025 and drew significant interest from the market.
Nike has been trying to engineer a significant turnaround after several years of struggles, due to rising competition in the luxury apparel space, an overemphasis on promotional online offers, and what some consider a lack of focus in the iconic company's branding. In late 2024, Nike pulled veteran Elliott Hill out of retirement to lead the turnaround.
But, as with most turnarounds, the plan appears to be taking longer than expected to execute, and President Donald Trump's tariffs have not helped the cause. It's possible that Halvorsen and his team simply thought the turnaround would take too long.
Netflix has been in the midst of a heated battle to acquire certain Warner Bros. Discovery assets. While the company has an agreement in place, Paramount Skydance has been in hot pursuit and does not seem to be going away, recently offering an improved bid to Warner Bros. Discovery's board of directors.
Many investors didn't like Netflix's decision to pursue such a large acquisition because the firm isn't a proven acquirer and has been succeeding with its organic growth strategy. If Netflix ultimately moves forward with the acquisition, it will also face regulatory scrutiny.
Meta's stock struggled in 2025, largely as investors grew increasingly nervous about the large artificial intelligence-related capital expenditure plans of the hyperscalers, as well as competition from other social platforms in the digital adtech space, such as ByteDance's TikTok.
Investing heavily in the insurance space
During the quarter, Viking initiated new positions in the insurance stocks UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), Chubb (NYSE: CB), and Progressive (NYSE: PGR). At the end of 2025, each of these positions was worth between $300 million and $400 million. Each is quite different, and each stock has generated different performances over the past year.
UnitedHealth Group is the largest healthcare insurer in the U.S., providing a range of different plans for individuals, families, and employers, as well as Medicare Advantage and Medicaid plans. The company has struggled due to declining Medicare Advantage membership, higher utilization rates, and the company's first projected decline in revenue in nearly 40 years in 2026.
However, with the stock down nearly 40% over the past year and valuation also cheap historically, several hedge funds have taken positions in UnitedHealth, given the company's pricing power, which enables it to raise premiums to offset the issues mentioned above over time.
Progressive is one of the largest property and casualty (P&C) insurers in the U.S. The stock has struggled as investors expect the P&C insurance space to soften, leading to higher competition, typically lower rates for consumers, and, therefore, less revenue for insurance companies. But the stock is now cheap, trading at under 13 times forward earnings, so if you're a long-term investor looking for some exposure to the insurance sector, it's a good time to buy.
Chubb is another P&C company with an even larger market cap than Progressive, specializing in insuring expensive homes, luxury vehicles, and specialty businesses, among others. The company is coming off its best year in 2025, and management just essentially guided for double-digit earnings growth. The company also trades at a fairly cheap 12.4 times forward earnings, although investors may be cautious about its exposure to wildfires, which has been significantly reduced.
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Bram Berkowitz has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Meta Platforms, Netflix, Nike, Progressive, and Warner Bros. Discovery. The Motley Fool recommends UnitedHealth Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Billionaire Investor Ole Andreas Halvorsen Sold His Hedge Fund's Entire Stake in Nike, Netflix, and Meta and Bought 3 Insurance Stocks Instead

Key Points
Berkshire is unlikely to match its amazing track record of performance in the future.
However, the company could still outpace the S&P 500 over time.
If Berkshire figures out ways to deploy its cash and makes smart moves, it could still beat the market.
Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRKA)(NYSE: BRKB) has an unmatched history of beating the market over time. From the time Warren Buffett took over as CEO in 1964 through the end of 2025, Berkshire delivered a total return for investors of approximately 6,100,000%. That's not a typo, and it compares with a return of about 45,000% from the S&P 500.
Warren Buffett himself cautioned investors a few years ago that the long-term returns going forward won't be anything close to what they've been throughout the company's history. In a nutshell, it's easier to produce 20% annualized returns when you have a billion dollars to deploy than when you have a trillion dollars.
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However, many investors are skeptical about the ability of Berkshire Hathaway to beat the market at all over the next decade and beyond. And to be fair, there are some legitimate concerns. For one thing, some of Berkshire's subsidiaries -- such as GEICO -- have been underperforming their peers in recent years. Also, Berkshire has about $382 billion in cash on its balance sheet, which is about 35% of its total market capitalization. Sure, this cash stockpile earns some income by being invested in Treasuries, but it certainly drags down the company's overall return profile.
With all of that in mind, I believe there's still a clear path to Berkshire producing market-beating returns over the next 10-20 years. And here are four things that could put it on the path to getting there.
Fix the insurance business issues
As mentioned, Berkshire's insurance business (especially GEICO) has been a bit disappointing in recent years. Profitability isn't where it should be, and the company is a big laggard in technology, which is a big reason Progressive (NYSE: PGR) recently leapfrogged it for the number two spot in the auto insurance market share.
Put lots of cash to work
If new CEO Greg Abel can find ways to put a substantial portion of the company's cash to work in attractive investment opportunities, it would go a long way to Berkshire producing market-beating returns.
Opportunistic buybacks
Warren Buffett paused buybacks in his last year or so as CEO, but I'd love to see Greg Abel use them opportunistically, with the same rule Buffett had to follow -- buying back at a significant discount to intrinsic value.
Modernize the stock portfolio
Many of the tech-focused investments in Berkshire's portfolio have been made by people other than Warren Buffett, and this has been a limiting factor.
For example, Berkshire bought shares of Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) in 2019 and gained approximately 180% through the end of 2025. But this was a small investment by Berkshire's standards. Now that Abel and investment manager Ted Weschler are going to be making larger investments, we could certainly see significant investments in newer growth opportunities start to appear in the portfolio.
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Matt Frankel, CFP has positions in Amazon and Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and Progressive. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Here's How Berkshire Hathaway Beats The Market From Here

Looking today at week-over-week shares outstanding changes among the universe of ETFs covered at ETF Channel, one standout is the iShares U.S. Financials ETF (Symbol: IYF) where we have detected an approximate $124.8 million dollar outflow -- that's a 3.0% decrease week over week (from 32,950,000 to 31,950,000). Among the largest underlying components of IYF, in trading today The Charles Schwab Corporation (Symbol: SCHW) is down about 0.6%, Standard and Poors Global Inc (Symbol: SPGI) is down about 0.1%, and Progressive Corp. (Symbol: PGR) is lower by about 0.1%. For a complete list of holdings, visit the IYF Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of IYF, versus its 200 day moving average:
Looking at the chart above, IYF's low point in its 52 week range is $95.34 per share, with $133.54 as the 52 week high point — that compares with a last trade of $124.76. Comparing the most recent share price to the 200 day moving average can also be a useful technical analysis technique -- learn more about the 200 day moving average ».
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Exchange traded funds (ETFs) trade just like stocks, but instead of ''shares'' investors are actually buying and selling ''units''. These ''units'' can be traded back and forth just like stocks, but can also be created or destroyed to accommodate investor demand. Each week we monitor the week-over-week change in shares outstanding data, to keep a lookout for those ETFs experiencing notable inflows (many new units created) or outflows (many old units destroyed). Creation of new units will mean the underlying holdings of the ETF need to be purchased, while destruction of units involves selling underlying holdings, so large flows can also impact the individual components held within ETFs.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

IYF, SCHW, SPGI, PGR: Large Outflows Detected at ETF

Investors in Progressive Corp. (Symbol: PGR) saw new options become available today, for the April 17th expiration. At Stock Options Channel, our YieldBoost formula has looked up and down the PGR options chain for the new April 17th contracts and identified one put and one call contract of particular interest.
The put contract at the $200.00 strike price has a current bid of $6.50. If an investor was to sell-to-open that put contract, they are committing to purchase the stock at $200.00, but will also collect the premium, putting the cost basis of the shares at $193.50 (before broker commissions). To an investor already interested in purchasing shares of PGR, that could represent an attractive alternative to paying $202.25/share today.
Because the $200.00 strike represents an approximate 1% discount to the current trading price of the stock (in other words it is out-of-the-money by that percentage), there is also the possibility that the put contract would expire worthless. The current analytical data (including greeks and implied greeks) suggest the current odds of that happening are 54%. Stock Options Channel will track those odds over time to see how they change, publishing a chart of those numbers on our website under the contract detail page for this contract. Should the contract expire worthless, the premium would represent a 3.25% return on the cash commitment, or 20.83% annualized — at Stock Options Channel we call this the YieldBoost.
Below is a chart showing the trailing twelve month trading history for Progressive Corp., and highlighting in green where the $200.00 strike is located relative to that history:
Turning to the calls side of the option chain, the call contract at the $205.00 strike price has a current bid of $7.70. If an investor was to purchase shares of PGR stock at the current price level of $202.25/share, and then sell-to-open that call contract as a "covered call," they are committing to sell the stock at $205.00. Considering the call seller will also collect the premium, that would drive a total return (excluding dividends, if any) of 5.17% if the stock gets called away at the April 17th expiration (before broker commissions). Of course, a lot of upside could potentially be left on the table if PGR shares really soar, which is why looking at the trailing twelve month trading history for Progressive Corp., as well as studying the business fundamentals becomes important. Below is a chart showing PGR's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $205.00 strike highlighted in red:
Considering the fact that the $205.00 strike represents an approximate 1% premium to the current trading price of the stock (in other words it is out-of-the-money by that percentage), there is also the possibility that the covered call contract would expire worthless, in which case the investor would keep both their shares of stock and the premium collected. The current analytical data (including greeks and implied greeks) suggest the current odds of that happening are 53%. On our website under the contract detail page for this contract, Stock Options Channel will track those odds over time to see how they change and publish a chart of those numbers (the trading history of the option contract will also be charted). Should the covered call contract expire worthless, the premium would represent a 3.81% boost of extra return to the investor, or 24.40% annualized, which we refer to as the YieldBoost.
The implied volatility in the put contract example is 28%, while the implied volatility in the call contract example is 36%.
Meanwhile, we calculate the actual trailing twelve month volatility (considering the last 251 trading day closing values as well as today's price of $202.25) to be 26%. For more put and call options contract ideas worth looking at, visit StockOptionsChannel.com.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

April 17th Options Now Available For Progressive (PGR)

The Progressive Corporation PGR reported earnings per share of $1.98 for January 2026, which jumped 4% year over year. The improvement stemmed from higher revenues and a rise in investment income, partially offset by an increase in expenses.
January Numbers in Detail
Progressive recorded net premiums written of $6.7 billion, up 4% from $6.5 billion in the year-ago month. Net premiums earned were about $6.9 billion, up 5% from $6.5 billion reported in the year-ago month.
Net realized income on securities was $103 million, which declined 6% from the year-ago month.
Combined ratio — the percentage of premiums paid out as claims and expenses — deteriorated 30 basis points (bps) year over year to 84.4.
PGR’s total revenues were $7.5 billion, up 5.3% year over year, owing to a 5% increase in premiums, a 16% jump in investment income, a 4.2% rise in fees and other revenues, and 14.2% higher service revenues.
Total expenses increased 5.5% to $6 billion, mainly due to higher losses and loss adjustment expenses, policy acquisition costs, other underwriting expenses, and service expenses.
In January 2026, policies in force (PIF) were impressive for both Vehicle and Property businesses. In the Vehicle business, the Personal Auto segment recorded a 10% year-over-year increase to 37.6 million policies. Special Lines policies increased 7% from the year-earlier month to 7 million.
In Progressive’s Personal Auto segment, Agency Auto PIF increased 10% to 10.8 million, while Direct Auto improved 14% to 16.1 million.
PGR’s Commercial Auto segment policies rose 4% year over year to 1.2 million.
The Property business had 3.6 million policies in force in the reported month, up 3% year over year.
The company’s book value per share was $53.24 as of Jan. 31, 2026, up 16.4% from $45.75 on Jan. 31, 2025.
In the trailing 12 months, the return on equity was 38.9%, having expanded 130 bps from 37.6% in January 2025. The debt-to-total-capital ratio improved 230 bps year over year to 18.1 as of Jan. 31, 2026.
Price Performance
Progressive shares have lost 24.6% in the past year against the industry’s growth of 3.5%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Zacks Rank
Progressive currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Stocks to Consider
Some better-ranked stocks from the insurance industry are NMI Holdings Inc. NMIH, The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. HIG and The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. THG, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
NMI Holdings’s earnings surpassed estimates in three of the last four quarters and matched in one, the average surprise being 6.02%. Shares of NMIH have jumped 12.8% in the past year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NMIH’s 2026 and 2027 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 3.6% and 7.7%, respectively.
The Hartford Insurance’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the last four quarters, the average surprise being 18.81%. Shares of HIG have jumped 25.1% in the past year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HIG’s 2027 revenues implies year-over-year growth of 8.1%.
The Hanover Insurance’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the last four quarters, the average surprise being 23.86%. Shares of THG have jumped 9.7% in the past year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for THG’s 2027 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 5.7%.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Progressive Corporation (The)

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