Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Receives $237.20 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $237.20.

VRSK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Monday, December 29th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 target price on the stock. Capital One Financial set a $224.00 target price on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Verisk Analytics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Monday, March 30th.

Verisk Analytics Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSK opened at $178.89 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.42. The company has a 50 day moving average of $190.34 and a 200-day moving average of $209.69. Verisk Analytics has a twelve month low of $161.70 and a twelve month high of $322.92. The firm has a market cap of $23.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.82.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.22. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 29.56% and a return on equity of 357.00%. The business had revenue of $778.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $773.74 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.61 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Verisk Analytics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.450-7.75 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 18th that permits the company to buyback $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This is an increase from Verisk Analytics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Verisk Analytics’s payout ratio is presently 30.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Christopher John Perry purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $180.00 per share, for a total transaction of $180,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 2,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $538,920. The trade was a 50.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.57, for a total transaction of $68,628.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 19,984 shares in the company, valued at $3,428,654.88. This represents a 1.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verisk Analytics

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VRSK. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Verisk Analytics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Reflection Asset Management acquired a new position in Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

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.