Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $109.46.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on BRO shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $112.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Brown & Brown from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Argus initiated coverage on Brown & Brown in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Barclays upped their price target on Brown & Brown from $108.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brown & Brown

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 0.7% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,804,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,144,893,000 after purchasing an additional 86,824 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Brown & Brown by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,915,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $405,638,000 after buying an additional 28,180 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Brown & Brown by 24.6% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,489,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $311,979,000 after acquiring an additional 687,783 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Brown & Brown by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,466,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $255,537,000 after acquiring an additional 371,980 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 105.1% during the 2nd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 2,068,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $184,930,000 after acquiring an additional 1,059,711 shares in the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brown & Brown Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of BRO opened at $102.93 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $29.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.05, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.84. Brown & Brown has a one year low of $69.19 and a one year high of $114.15. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $107.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $101.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.73.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 17.12% and a net margin of 22.65%. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Brown & Brown will post 3.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. This is a positive change from Brown & Brown’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 6th. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.35%.

About Brown & Brown

Brown & Brown, Inc markets and sells insurance products and services in the United States, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Retail, National Programs, Wholesale Brokerage, and Services. The Retail segment provides property and casualty, employee benefits insurance products, personal insurance products, specialties insurance products, risk management strategies, loss control survey and analysis, consultancy, and claims processing services.