Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Upgraded by Mizuho to Outperform Rating

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) was upgraded by research analysts at Mizuho from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $85.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous target price of $84.00. Mizuho’s price target indicates a potential upside of 19.37% from the stock’s current price.

BRO has been the topic of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Brown & Brown from $94.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $81.00 price target (down from $90.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Brown & Brown in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $91.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $88.00 to $81.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Brown & Brown has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.43.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Brown & Brown stock opened at $71.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.79. Brown & Brown has a 1-year low of $65.68 and a 1-year high of $125.68. The company’s 50-day moving average is $75.51 and its 200 day moving average is $83.68.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 17.84%.Brown & Brown’s revenue was up 35.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Brown & Brown will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Brown & Brown

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 423.1% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the second quarter valued at $30,000. Motco purchased a new position in Brown & Brown in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC bought a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 71.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brown & Brown Company Profile

Brown & Brown, Inc (NYSE: BRO) is a professional insurance brokerage and risk advisory firm that provides a broad range of property and casualty, employee benefits, personal risk, and specialty insurance products. The company works with commercial, public sector and individual clients to design and place insurance programs, manage claims and loss control, and deliver risk management consulting. Its services also include wholesale brokerage, program administration and other specialty distribution solutions that connect carriers and intermediaries to niche markets.

Brown & Brown operates through a decentralized model of operating units and subsidiaries, enabling local client service with the scale to access national and specialty markets.