Progressive (NYSE:PGR – Get Free Report) and AON (NYSE:AON – Get Free Report) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and profitability.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current recommendations for Progressive and AON, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Progressive | 2 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 2.23 |
| AON | 1 | 6 | 12 | 0 | 2.58 |
Progressive presently has a consensus price target of $235.95, indicating a potential upside of 10.47%. AON has a consensus price target of $397.47, indicating a potential upside of 34.69%. Given AON’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe AON is more favorable than Progressive.
Profitability
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Progressive | 12.84% | 32.92% | 8.85% |
| AON | 22.27% | 42.13% | 7.57% |
Insider and Institutional Ownership
85.3% of Progressive shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.1% of AON shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Progressive shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of AON shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Dividends
Progressive pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. AON pays an annual dividend of $3.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Progressive pays out 2.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. AON pays out 18.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Progressive and AON”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Progressive | $87.67 billion | 1.42 | $11.31 billion | $19.94 | 10.71 |
| AON | $17.58 billion | 3.56 | $3.69 billion | $18.14 | 16.27 |
Progressive has higher revenue and earnings than AON. Progressive is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than AON, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Volatility & Risk
Progressive has a beta of 0.27, meaning that its share price is 73% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AON has a beta of 0.66, meaning that its share price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
AON beats Progressive on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Progressive
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.
About AON
Aon Plc engages in the provision of risk, health, and wealth solutions. It focuses on risk capital including claim management, reinsurance, risk analysis, management, retention, and transfer; and human capital involving analytics, health and benefits, investments, pensions and retirement, talent and rewards, and workplace wellbeing. The company was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.
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