Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) Reaches New 12-Month Low - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Verisk Analytics stock reached a new 52-week low at $239.78 before closing at $244.20, indicating a significant drop in market performance.
• Several analysts have differing ratings and price objectives for Verisk, with an average consensus target price of $311.00 and varied ratings from "Strong Buy" to "Sell."
• The company reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.88 for the last quarter, surpassing estimates and showing a 7.8% revenue growth year-over-year.

Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $239.78 and last traded at $244.20, with a volume of 26451 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $243.06.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $320.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $317.00 to $319.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Verisk Analytics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $311.00.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $34.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.54, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $258.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $286.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.34.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $772.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $767.91 million. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 460.89% and a net margin of 30.67%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.74 earnings per share. Verisk Analytics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.800-7.000 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Verisk Analytics's dividend payout ratio is 27.73%.

Insider Activity at Verisk Analytics

In related news, Director Christopher John Perry purchased 1,000 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $259.80 per share, for a total transaction of $259,800.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,773 shares in the company, valued at approximately $460,625.40. This represents a 129.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.72, for a total value of $76,416.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 15,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,862,828.80. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,520 shares of company stock worth $2,273,891 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verisk Analytics

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VRSK. Louisbourg Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 69.0% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 98 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. 90.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Verisk Analytics

Verisk Analytics, Inc provides data analytics and technology solutions to the insurance markets in the United States and internationally. It offers policy language, prospective loss costs, policy writing and rating rules, and various underwriting solutions for risk selection and segmentation, pricing, and workflow optimization; property- and auto- specific rating and underwriting information solutions that allows clients to understand, quantify, underwrite, mitigate, and avoid potential loss for risks; catastrophe modeling solutions, which enables companies to identify, quantify, and plan for the financial consequences of catastrophes for use by insurers, reinsurers, intermediaries, financial institutions, and governments.

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