Citigroup Maintains Buy on Progressive After Reported November Operating EPS

Citigroup has published a research report on Progressive

after the company reported operating EPS for November. In the report, Citigroup writes, "Core revs of $1.2B were in line with our estimate, while expenses were ~$50M lower than our forecast, driving the beat. Our 2011E goes to $1.48 from $1.40 driven by Nov results and a lower CR estimate for Dec. No change to our 2012E of $1.60 and 2013E of $1.70. Our initial CR estimate was too high resulting in the larger beat vs our forecasts, however the key takeaway from November was the 5% PIF growth, a rate we have not seen since July. While 1 month does not make a trend, we believe traction from usage-based initiatives and actions taken in FL and other states are showing through in the results." Citigroup maintains its Buy rating and $22 price target on Progressive, which is currently trading up $0.60 from yesterday's $19.19 closing price.