Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) Sets New 12-Month Low - Here's Why

Key Points

• Verisk Analytics reached a new 12-month low with its stock price hitting $241.06 during trading, closing at $242.26.
• Analyst ratings show a consensus of "Hold" with a target price of $308.09, while several firms adjusted their price targets downward for the company.
• The company reported earnings of $1.88 per share, exceeding estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, highlighting a modest 0.7% dividend yield.

Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $241.06 and last traded at $242.26, with a volume of 15273 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $243.47.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRSK has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $340.00 to $334.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Verisk Analytics from $317.00 to $319.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial set a $315.00 price target on shares of Verisk Analytics and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $320.00 price target on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $308.09.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.34, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.53. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $272.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $290.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.11 billion, a PE ratio of 37.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.86.

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

Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Verisk Analytics's payout ratio is 27.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Christopher John Perry acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $259.80 per share, with a total value 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Nicholas Daffan sold 5,420 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.00, for a total value of $1,436,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 54,337 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,399,305. This trade represents a 9.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,265 shares of company stock worth $4,002,332 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verisk Analytics

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Louisbourg Investments Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the first quarter valued at $25,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 69.0% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 98 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.00% of the company's stock.

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.