Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Stock Rated “Moderate Buy” by Sell-Side Brokerages

Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $224.79.

Several brokerages have issued reports on VRSK. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Thursday. Evercore set a $223.00 target price on Verisk Analytics in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Barclays dropped their price target on Verisk Analytics from $275.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $235.00 to $215.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Verisk Analytics from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th.

Verisk Analytics Stock Up 1.9%

VRSK stock traded up $3.57 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $190.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,471,474 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,310,351. The company has a market capitalization of $24.85 billion, a PE ratio of 29.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $179.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $181.02. Verisk Analytics has a 12 month low of $155.94 and a 12 month high of $239.47.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.05. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 28.24% and a negative return on equity of 239.55%. The business had revenue of $806.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $804.02 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. Verisk Analytics’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Verisk Analytics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.450-7.750 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Verisk Analytics will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. Verisk Analytics’s payout ratio is presently 30.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verisk Analytics news, CEO Lee Shavel sold 3,535 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.70, for a total value of $603,424.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 98,490 shares in the company, valued at $16,812,243. This trade represents a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.85, for a total transaction of $73,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 17,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,250,402.40. This trade represents a 2.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 16,325 shares of company stock worth $3,148,156 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verisk Analytics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. XXEC Inc. purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the second quarter worth $992,675,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Verisk Analytics in the 2nd quarter worth $1,852,678,000. Bamco Inc. NY purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 2nd quarter worth about $844,259,000. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $266,201,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $205,092,000. 90.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Verisk Analytics

Verisk Analytics, Inc is a data analytics and technology company that provides information, software and predictive insights primarily to the insurance industry. Its solutions help insurers assess risk, support underwriting, manage claims, detect fraud and improve pricing and operational decision-making across property and casualty, life and specialty insurance markets.

The company’s offerings include industry data and standardized insurance information through its ISO business, catastrophe modeling and risk analytics through Extreme Event Solutions and AIR Worldwide, and property estimating and claims-management tools through Xactware.