Baldwin Insurance Group (NASDAQ:BWIN) Raised to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Baldwin Insurance Group has been downgraded to a "strong sell" rating by Zacks Research, reflecting a negative outlook from investment analysts.
• The company reported a 0.42 EPS in its latest quarter, meeting analysts' expectations, but the stock's price objectives have been adjusted downwards by several firms, including BMO Capital Markets and Raymond James.
• Insider trading activity showed that executives, including CEO Trevor Baldwin, significantly reduced their stock holdings, selling over 336,000 shares in recent months.

Baldwin Insurance Group (NASDAQ:BWIN - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research to a "strong sell" rating in a report issued on Tuesday, August 12th,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also commented on BWIN. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Baldwin Insurance Group from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Baldwin Insurance Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Baldwin Insurance Group from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $40.00 target price (down from $48.00) on shares of Baldwin Insurance Group in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $43.67.

Baldwin Insurance Group Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ BWIN traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $33.31. 131,198 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 672,036. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $38.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.10. Baldwin Insurance Group has a one year low of $28.66 and a one year high of $55.82. The company has a market cap of $3.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -114.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.66.

Baldwin Insurance Group (NASDAQ:BWIN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42. The company had revenue of $378.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $375.38 million. Baldwin Insurance Group had a negative net margin of 1.22% and a positive return on equity of 13.24%. Baldwin Insurance Group's revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.34 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Baldwin Insurance Group will post 1.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Baldwin Insurance Group

In related news, Director Lowry Baldwin sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.98, for a total value of $1,949,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Trevor Baldwin sold 117,000 shares of Baldwin Insurance Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.83, for a total transaction of $4,660,110.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 27,676 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,102,335.08. The trade was a 80.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 336,711 shares of company stock worth $13,205,267 in the last quarter. 20.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Advisory Services Network LLC boosted its holdings in Baldwin Insurance Group by 9.7% in the second quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 14,379 shares of the company's stock valued at $616,000 after purchasing an additional 1,277 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Baldwin Insurance Group by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,920,530 shares of the company's stock valued at $82,218,000 after buying an additional 142,506 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its stake in shares of Baldwin Insurance Group by 11.0% in the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 20,452 shares of the company's stock worth $877,000 after buying an additional 2,025 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in Baldwin Insurance Group by 284.6% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 9,610 shares of the company's stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 7,111 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Baldwin Insurance Group by 100.1% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 540,004 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,118,000 after acquiring an additional 270,156 shares in the last quarter. 77.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Baldwin Insurance Group

The Baldwin Insurance Group, Inc operates as an independent insurance distribution firm that delivers insurance and risk management solutions in the United States. It operates through three segments: Insurance Advisory Solutions; Underwriting, Capacity & Technology Solutions; and Mainstreet Insurance Solutions.