Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation, seven have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $237.20.

A number of research firms have commented on VRSK. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Verisk Analytics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 25th. Raymond James Financial raised Verisk Analytics from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $215.00 to $260.00 in a report on Monday. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Verisk Analytics from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $230.00 price target on Verisk Analytics in a report on Thursday, February 19th.

Insider Activity at Verisk Analytics

In other news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 300 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.54, for a total transaction of $65,862.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 14,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,738.10. The trade was a 2.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Christopher John Perry acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $180.00 per share, with a total value of $180,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $538,920. This trade represents a 50.15% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verisk Analytics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Verisk Analytics by 1,200.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,264,323 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $730,196,000 after buying an additional 3,013,400 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $556,192,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 334.5% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 754,548 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $188,237,000 after purchasing an additional 580,885 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 1,879.0% in the 3rd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 566,235 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $142,414,000 after purchasing an additional 537,623 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Verisk Analytics by 232.3% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 760,599 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $191,298,000 after purchasing an additional 531,713 shares during the period. 90.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verisk Analytics Stock Down 2.0%

NASDAQ VRSK opened at $211.18 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $206.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $226.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.42, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.20. The company has a market cap of $29.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.81. Verisk Analytics has a one year low of $164.60 and a one year high of $322.92.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $778.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $773.74 million. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 29.56% and a return on equity of 357.00%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.61 earnings per share. Verisk Analytics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.450-7.75 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics will post 6.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Verisk Analytics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.73%.

Verisk Analytics announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 18th that permits the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.