Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating on Verisk Analytics, with one sell, seven hold, six buy and one strong-buy recommendation. The average 12-month price target is $236.27, above the reported share price of $187.68.
• Verisk exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.98 in EPS versus the $1.93 consensus and $806.3 million in revenue, up 4.3% year over year. Analysts expect approximately $7.71 in EPS for the current year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50, equivalent to $2.00 annually and a 1.1% yield. Insiders sold 22,227 shares worth about $4.17 million over the last quarter, while institutional investors own roughly 90% of the stock.

Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the fifteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $236.2667.

A number of analysts have weighed in on VRSK shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered Verisk Analytics from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Verisk Analytics from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $185.00 price target on Verisk Analytics and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $225.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th.

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSK opened at $187.68 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $187.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $185.45. Verisk Analytics has a one year low of $155.94 and a one year high of $274.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.42, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.83, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.67.

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

Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Verisk Analytics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 2,336 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.99, for a total transaction of $408,776.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 15,868 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,776,741.32. This represents a 12.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 2,020 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.49, for a total transaction of $394,889.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 11,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,251,262.84. The trade was a 14.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 22,227 shares of company stock valued at $4,174,599. Corporate insiders own 0.52% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verisk Analytics

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of VRSK. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 1.1% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,232 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,259,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP lifted its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 39.6% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 11,931 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,551,000 after acquiring an additional 3,385 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 114.4% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 253 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 52.2% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 135,876 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $42,325,000 after purchasing an additional 46,603 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. 90.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verisk Analytics Company Profile

Verisk Analytics, Inc NASDAQ: VRSK is a data analytics and decision‑support provider that helps organizations assess and manage risk. The company supplies data, predictive models and software to customers in insurance, reinsurance, financial services, government, energy and other commercial markets. Its offerings are designed to support underwriting, pricing, claims management, catastrophe modeling, fraud detection and regulatory compliance, enabling clients to make more informed operational and strategic decisions.

Verisk's product portfolio combines large proprietary datasets with analytics platforms and industry‑specific applications.

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