Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) Shares Gap Down - Here's Why

Key Points

• Verisk Analytics shares fell about 5%, opening at $180.90 after previously closing at $191.82. The stock’s consensus analyst rating remains “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $236.27.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.98 in adjusted earnings per share versus the $1.93 consensus and revenue of $806.3 million, up 4.3% year over year.
• Verisk declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, equivalent to a $2.00 annualized payout and a 1.1% yield. Meanwhile, company insiders sold 24,562 shares worth approximately $4.6 million over the past 90 days.

Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $191.82, but opened at $180.90. Verisk Analytics shares last traded at $182.7330, with a volume of 275,829 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America cut their price target on Verisk Analytics from $225.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Evercore set a $223.00 target price on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verisk Analytics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $236.27.

Verisk Analytics Trading Down 5.0%

The firm has a market capitalization of $23.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.01, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.67. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $187.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $187.72.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last issued 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $804.02 million. Verisk Analytics had a negative return on equity of 239.55% and a net margin of 28.24%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.88 EPS. Verisk Analytics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.450-7.750 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. 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 payout ratio is currently 30.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Samuel G. Liss sold 6,765 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.63, for a total value of $1,201,666.95. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 69,098 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,273,877.74. The trade was a 8.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 2,336 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 owned 15,868 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,776,741.32. This represents a 12.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,562 shares of company stock worth $4,566,783. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verisk Analytics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 141.7% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 145 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.00% of the company's stock.

About Verisk Analytics

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.

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.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source