Today's Technical View on Progressive and Allstate: Improving U.S. Economy

LONDON, February 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

With the U.S. economy showing significant signs of improvement, increased private sector hiring, gains in housing and automobile markets, and expansion of domestic energy production and manufacturing are among the macro-trends which are likely to instill more confidence in the economy and spur stronger growth in insurance sales. The outlook for the Property and Casualty Insurance industry seems optimistic on account of price increases which would translate into expansion of the underlying margins of major insurers. Superstorm Sandy, which devastated New York and New Jersey, would increase the demand for primary commercial insurance and reinsurance, resulting into modest increase in property reinsurance rates. Being amongst the largest insurers in the U.S., The Progressive Corporation (NYSE: PGR) and The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) could be direct beneficiaries. StockCall initiated free in-depth technical analysis on Progressive and The Allstate which are currently available upon sign up at

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Progressive Corporation announces January 2013 results

Progressive Corporation is United States' fourth largest auto insurer and largest seller of motorcycle and commercial auto insurance. For the month of January 2013, Progressive reported Net Premiums written of $1.53 billion, Net Premiums earned of $1.58 billion and Net Income of $134 million or $0.22 per share, thereby registering net income growth of 81% over January 2012. The company repurchased 1.6 million shares at an average price of $21.89 per share, book value per share being $10.21. Sign up for the free technical analysis on Progressive Corp. at

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Earlier, Progressive Insurance announced a licensing program for intellectual property related to usage-based car insurance programs. "We have been developing and refining our industry-leading UBI program for more than 15 years and have been awarded six patents for good reason," said Glenn Renwick, Progressive's President and CEO. Its current application of usage-based insurance (UBI) accounts for more than $1 billion in premiums and is available in 43 states and the District of Columbia.

Allstate announces results of fourth quarter and full year of 2012

Allstate Corporation is the nation's largest publicly held personal lines insurer, serving about 16 million households with its insurance products of auto, home, life and retirement. The company reported exceptional overall business growth for full year of 2012. Consolidated Revenues grew by over 2% to $33.3 billion and Net Income was $2.31 billion or $4.68 per diluted share, up by 193% over 2011. Download the free report on The Allstate Corporation by registering at

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For the fourth quarter, Allstate reported consolidated Revenue of $8.54 billion and Net Income of $394 million or $0.81 per diluted share. The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 on each outstanding share of the Corporation's common stock, payable in cash.

Emphasizing its focus on proactive capital management, Steve Shebik, Chief Financial Officer said, "In 2012 we completed a $1 billion share repurchase and initiated a $1 billion share repurchase to be funded with hybrid debt to further optimize our capital structure." He further added, "The Board took additional actions to improve shareholder value by authorizing an additional $1 billion repurchase program expected to be completed by March 2014, bringing total buyback authorization to $2.0 billion. Allstate's book value per diluted share has increased by 17.2% to $42.39 at year-end 2012."

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