Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Earns Sector Perform Rating from Analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada

Equities research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage set a “sector perform” rating and a $76.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price target indicates a potential upside of 8.64% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $94.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $88.00 to $81.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Brown & Brown in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.33.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

NYSE BRO traded up $0.77 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $69.96. 116,086 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,293,586. The company has a market cap of $23.81 billion, a PE ratio of 21.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $73.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.38. Brown & Brown has a fifty-two week low of $65.68 and a fifty-two week high of $125.68.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brown & Brown

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Brown & Brown by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,634,847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,999,497,000 after purchasing an additional 303,955 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,886,395 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,425,546,000 after acquiring an additional 407,006 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 13.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,416,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,445,888,000 after acquiring an additional 1,821,229 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,403,814 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,068,284,000 after purchasing an additional 282,988 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Brown & Brown by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,952,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $631,495,000 after purchasing an additional 118,225 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

About Brown & Brown

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.