Ryan Specialty (NYSE:RYAN) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Analyst Says

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Ryan Specialty’s price target from $48 to $54 and maintained an “outperform” rating, implying 22.57% potential upside from the stock’s $44.06 price.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: the consensus rating is “Hold”, based on eight Buy, nine Hold, and two Sell ratings, with an average price target of $50.44.
• Ryan Specialty exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.74 in EPS versus a $0.60 estimate and $916.65 million in revenue, up 7.2% year over year. The company also authorized a $300 million share-repurchase program, while insiders bought shares in recent transactions.

Ryan Specialty (NYSE:RYAN - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by stock analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $48.00 to $54.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price target would indicate a potential upside of 22.57% from the stock's current price.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Ryan Specialty in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Ryan Specialty from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Ryan Specialty from $31.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group cut their price target on Ryan Specialty from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Ryan Specialty from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $50.44.

Ryan Specialty Stock Performance

NYSE:RYAN opened at $44.06 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.39. Ryan Specialty has a 1-year low of $29.28 and a 1-year high of $61.85. The stock has a market cap of $11.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.22, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.61.

Ryan Specialty (NYSE:RYAN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $916.65 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $873.93 million. Ryan Specialty had a return on equity of 41.33% and a net margin of 8.21%.Ryan Specialty's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Ryan Specialty will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Ryan Specialty declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, May 26th that permits the company to repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 3.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. acquired 7,500 shares of Ryan Specialty stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $35.16 per share, with a total value of $263,700.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 117,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,146,524.28. This represents a 6.79% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Patrick G. Ryan bought 120,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $32.50 per share, for a total transaction of $3,900,000.00. Following the purchase, the chairman owned 13,817,859 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $449,080,417.50. This represents a 0.88% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have acquired 130,715 shares of company stock valued at $4,263,590 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 52.03% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ryan Specialty

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of RYAN. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its holdings in Ryan Specialty by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 32,797 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,848,000 after buying an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Ryan Specialty by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,467 shares of the company's stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ryan Specialty by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 25,355 shares of the company's stock worth $1,309,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec raised its holdings in shares of Ryan Specialty by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 3,313 shares of the company's stock worth $171,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Snowden Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ryan Specialty by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 21,135 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,437,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.82% of the company's stock.

About Ryan Specialty

Ryan Specialty Group, Inc NYSE: RYAN is a global specialty insurance and reinsurance platform that partners with a network of insurers and reinsurers to deliver tailored risk solutions. The company focuses on complex and large-scale risks across multiple industry sectors, leveraging its underwriting expertise to structure coverage programs that meet clients' unique needs.

Ryan Specialty's core offerings span a diverse range of specialty lines, including casualty, property, professional liability, marine and energy, program administration, and sports and entertainment.

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