Short Interest in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Increases By 32.9%

Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 4,816,674 shares, an increase of 32.9% from the January 29th total of 3,623,777 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,302,976 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days. Approximately 3.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Approximately 3.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,302,976 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

Shares of VRSK stock opened at $214.75 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.42, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.20. Verisk Analytics has a fifty-two week low of $164.60 and a fifty-two week high of $322.92. The firm has a market cap of $29.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.81. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $206.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $226.92.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $778.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $773.74 million. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 29.56% and a return on equity of 357.00%. Verisk Analytics’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.61 earnings per share. Verisk Analytics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.450-7.75 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Verisk Analytics declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Verisk Analytics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio is 27.73%.

Insider Transactions at Verisk Analytics

In other Verisk Analytics news, Director Christopher John Perry purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $180.00 per share, for a total transaction of $180,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 2,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $538,920. The trade was a 50.15% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.54, for a total value of $65,862.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 14,265 shares in the company, valued at $3,131,738.10. This trade represents a 2.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jensen Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Verisk Analytics by 50.7% in the third quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 424,645 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $106,802,000 after acquiring an additional 142,911 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 6.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,196,460 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $300,931,000 after buying an additional 73,026 shares during the period. Allstate Corp bought a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the third quarter worth $1,256,000. ING Groep NV boosted its position in Verisk Analytics by 278.4% in the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 87,082 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $21,902,000 after buying an additional 64,066 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 20.3% during the 3rd quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 101,970 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,646,000 after purchasing an additional 17,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on VRSK shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Verisk Analytics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $230.00 price objective on Verisk Analytics in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Argus cut shares of Verisk Analytics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price objective on Verisk Analytics in a report on Thursday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.14.

Verisk Analytics Company Profile

Verisk Analytics, Inc (NASDAQ: VRSK) is a data analytics and decision‑support provider that helps organizations assess and manage risk. The company supplies data, predictive models and software to customers in insurance, reinsurance, financial services, government, energy and other commercial markets. Its offerings are designed to support underwriting, pricing, claims management, catastrophe modeling, fraud detection and regulatory compliance, enabling clients to make more informed operational and strategic decisions.

Verisk’s product portfolio combines large proprietary datasets with analytics platforms and industry‑specific applications.