Zacks Research Predicts Lower Earnings for Verisk Analytics

Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) - Stock analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note issued on Wednesday, March 19th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the business services provider will post earnings per share of $1.67 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.72. The consensus estimate for Verisk Analytics' current full-year earnings is $6.63 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Verisk Analytics' Q2 2025 earnings at $1.78 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.76 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.76 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $6.97 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.93 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.97 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.99 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $7.77 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $8.51 EPS.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.01. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 32.65% and a return on equity of 274.13%. The firm had revenue of $735.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $733.55 million.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Barclays lowered Verisk Analytics from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $310.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $283.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $298.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $299.33.

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Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSK traded up $2.36 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $287.76. The company had a trading volume of 992,846 shares, compared to its average volume of 723,586. The stock has a market cap of $40.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.89. The company's 50 day moving average price is $289.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $280.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36. Verisk Analytics has a 52-week low of $217.34 and a 52-week high of $306.10.

Verisk Analytics announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a positive change from Verisk Analytics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Verisk Analytics's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 2,111 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.06, for a total transaction of $595,428.66. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,066 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,557,155.96. The trade was a 18.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.36, for a total value of $348,229.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,071,832.96. This represents a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,648 shares of company stock valued at $1,613,047 over the last ninety days. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verisk Analytics

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 2,025 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $543,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC lifted its position in Verisk Analytics by 1.7% in the third quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 2,508 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $672,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in Verisk Analytics by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 897 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its position in Verisk Analytics by 4.8% during the third quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 974 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.00% of the company's stock.

About Verisk Analytics

Verisk Analytics, Inc provides data analytics and technology solutions to the insurance markets in the United States and internationally. It offers policy language, prospective loss costs, policy writing and rating rules, and various underwriting solutions for risk selection and segmentation, pricing, and workflow optimization; property- and auto- specific rating and underwriting information solutions that allows clients to understand, quantify, underwrite, mitigate, and avoid potential loss for risks; catastrophe modeling solutions, which enables companies to identify, quantify, and plan for the financial consequences of catastrophes for use by insurers, reinsurers, intermediaries, financial institutions, and governments.