5 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Jonathan Bloomberg’s BloombergSen

4. The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)

BloombergSen’s Stake Value: $107 million

Percentage of BloombergSen’s 13F Portfolio: 6.6%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 54

The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) is an American insurance company headquartered in Mayfield, Ohio. The firm offers a variety of insurance products such as those covering automobiles, property damage, and excess flood damage.

The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) is the third largest auto insurance provider in the United States, and the firm has a massive $50 billion fixed income portfolio that benefits with an 11% increase in earnings each time the Federal Reserve hikes up the interest rate by 1%. With the markets pricing in strong interest rate hikes for the remainder of this year, it’s clear that the company has strong tailwinds in its favor despite the recent turbulent economic environment.

As this year’s June quarter ended, Mr. Bloomberg’s hedge fund had held a $107 million stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) that represented 6.6% of its investment portfolio. For the same time period, 54 out of the 895 hedge funds polled by Insider Monkey had also invested in the insurance company.

The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)’s largest investor is William B. Gray’s Orbis Investment Management which owns 4.6 million shares that are worth $542 million.

RiverPark Funds mentioned the company in its Q2 2022 investor letter. Here is what the fund said:

“Progressive Corp had a positive contribution to performance during the quarter. Net Premiums Written (NPW) grew +12% as the Company grew both policies in force and took the rate to offset higher loss cost trends that are being driven by inflation. For example, we estimate accident severity for personal auto is up +35% since the beginning of the pandemic.

However, this is partially offset by a 20% decline in frequency, due to people driving fewer miles. Progressive is making up for this net rise in cost by raising policy rates in the mid-teens percentage range. Progressive has been relatively early to take rate compared to industry peers, so the Company should be able to aggressively compete for share as competitors play catchup.”