Citizens Jmp Initiates Coverage on Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO)

Research analysts at Citizens Jmp assumed coverage on shares of Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday. The brokerage set an “outperform” rating and a $70.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. Citizens Jmp’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 21.92% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Argus raised shares of Brown & Brown to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Brown & Brown from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Brown & Brown from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Brown & Brown from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Brown & Brown from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.44.

Brown & Brown Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:BRO opened at $57.42 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.66. The business’s 50-day moving average is $64.09 and its 200 day moving average is $72.35. Brown & Brown has a 1 year low of $53.81 and a 1 year high of $113.83.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 17.94%.The company’s revenue was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.29 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Brown & Brown will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director H Palmer Proctor, Jr. purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $57.10 per share, with a total value of $114,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 47,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,719,159.10. This represents a 4.38% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 13.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brown & Brown

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BRO. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 81.1% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,479,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,639,392,000 after buying an additional 7,827,992 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $516,837,000. Capital International Investors acquired a new stake in Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter valued at $371,654,000. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. increased its holdings in Brown & Brown by 132.8% in the 4th quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 4,538,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $361,725,000 after acquiring an additional 2,589,048 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Brown & Brown by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,416,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,445,888,000 after acquiring an additional 1,821,229 shares in the last quarter. 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.