Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $76.00

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is neutral: Twenty-one brokerages assign Brown & Brown a consensus “Hold” rating, with an average 12-month price target of $76.00 versus the stock’s reported $70.85 price.
• Quarterly results slightly missed expectations: The company reported $1.07 in adjusted EPS versus the $1.08 consensus estimate and revenue of $1.65 billion versus $1.71 billion expected, although revenue increased 30.4% year over year.
• Institutional ownership remains high: Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the stock, with major firms including BlackRock, Deutsche Bank and Bank of America recently establishing or increasing positions.

Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the twenty-one brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have given a hold recommendation, seven have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $76.00.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on BRO shares. Weiss Ratings raised Brown & Brown from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Brown & Brown from $83.00 to $78.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

NYSE BRO opened at $70.85 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $23.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.60. Brown & Brown has a 52-week low of $53.81 and a 52-week high of $90.46. The business's 50-day moving average price is $67.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $64.99. The company has a quick ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.01). Brown & Brown had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 30.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Brown & Brown will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Brown & Brown

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,418,571,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Brown & Brown by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,608,720 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,017,847,000 after purchasing an additional 246,172 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in Brown & Brown in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $266,941,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Brown & Brown by 45.2% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,623,179 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $236,268,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128,417 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Brown & Brown by 5.1% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,569,784 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $232,786,000 after purchasing an additional 173,320 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company's stock.

About Brown & Brown

Brown & Brown, Inc is an insurance brokerage and risk management company headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida. The company helps businesses, public entities, individuals and other organizations identify, manage and transfer risk by arranging insurance coverage and providing related advisory services.

Its operations include retail insurance brokerage, national programs, wholesale brokerage and services. Brown & Brown offers property and casualty insurance, employee benefits, personal insurance, surety and other specialized coverage.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.