Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Hits New 12-Month Low - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Brown & Brown's stock reached a new 52-week low of $89.99 during trading, last trading at $90.71 with a volume of 161,725 shares.
• Several analysts have lowered their price objectives for the stock, with Morgan Stanley reducing it to $105, while Keefe, Bruyette & Woods set it at $87.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 0.7% and a payout ratio of 17.29%.

Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $89.99 and last traded at $90.71, with a volume of 161725 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $90.88.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on BRO shares. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $120.00 price target (down previously from $125.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Monday, August 4th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $122.00 to $106.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Truist Financial set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $104.00 to $87.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $111.00 to $108.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Brown & Brown presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $112.64.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 6.72 and a current ratio of 6.72. The firm's 50 day moving average is $96.71 and its 200-day moving average is $107.80. The firm has a market cap of $30.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.81.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 15.10%. The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Brown & Brown's payout ratio is presently 17.29%.

Insider Transactions at Brown & Brown

In other Brown & Brown news, Director Bronislaw Edmund Masojada bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $91.44 per share, with a total value of $91,440.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 5,000 shares in the company, valued at $457,200. The trade was a 25.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul J. Krump bought 2,678 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $93.31 per share, for a total transaction of $249,884.18. Following the purchase, the director owned 5,353 shares of the company's stock, valued at $499,488.43. This trade represents a 100.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 17.02% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brown & Brown

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BRO. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG acquired a new position in Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter valued at about $907,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Brown & Brown by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 25,739 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,626,000 after buying an additional 544 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming boosted its position in Brown & Brown by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 964 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its position in Brown & Brown by 564.9% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 137,664 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $14,044,000 after buying an additional 116,959 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP acquired a new position in Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,254,000. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Brown & Brown

Brown & Brown, Inc is an insurance agency, wholesale brokerage, insurance program and service organization. It engages in the provision of insurance brokerage services and casualty insurance underwriting services. It operates through the following segments: Retail, National Programs, Wholesale Brokerage, and Services.