Progressive stock drops after earnings miss, combined ratio tops 100% in September

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Shares of Progressive Insurance (NYSE:PGR [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/PGR]) dropped 8% on Wednesday after the company missed estimates [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4504238-progressive-gaap-eps-of-445-misses-by-085-net-premiums-written-of-2138b-misses-by-260m]for quarterly profit and reported a September combined ratio that topped 100%.

Net income dropped 48% in the quarter to $305 million, while net premiums earned rose 14% year-over-year to $20.85 billion, missing the Bloomberg consensus estimate of $21.03 billion.

Net premiums written rose 9.9% year-over-year to $21.38 billion, slightly below the estimated $21.65 billion.

The combined ratio reported 89.5% vs. 89% y/y, with an estimate of 86.5%.

The stock is marginally up this year and gets a 'hold' from Seeking Alpha's Quant rating system.

Wall Street analysts, however, recommend a 'buy.'

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* Progressive's earned premiums rise 18% in August, shares downgraded at BMO [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4495647-progressives-earned-premiums-rise-18-in-august]