Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $285.80.

A number of research analysts have commented on VRSK shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Verisk Analytics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Verisk Analytics from $243.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays upped their price target on Verisk Analytics from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and set a $279.00 price target on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Verisk Analytics Trading Down 1.9 %

VRSK opened at $280.80 on Friday. Verisk Analytics has a one year low of $217.34 and a one year high of $291.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.65 billion, a PE ratio of 43.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.86. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $271.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $266.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.07. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 274.13% and a net margin of 32.65%. The firm had revenue of $725.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $722.19 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Verisk Analytics will post 6.63 EPS for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Verisk Analytics’s payout ratio is currently 24.34%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.33, for a total value of $54,266.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 15,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,289,184.64. This represents a 1.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verisk Analytics

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VRSK. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Verisk Analytics in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the second quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the second quarter worth about $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

About Verisk Analytics

Verisk Analytics, Inc provides data analytics and technology solutions to the insurance markets in the United States and internationally. It offers policy language, prospective loss costs, policy writing and rating rules, and various underwriting solutions for risk selection and segmentation, pricing, and workflow optimization; property- and auto- specific rating and underwriting information solutions that allows clients to understand, quantify, underwrite, mitigate, and avoid potential loss for risks; catastrophe modeling solutions, which enables companies to identify, quantify, and plan for the financial consequences of catastrophes for use by insurers, reinsurers, intermediaries, financial institutions, and governments.