Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $237.20.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VRSK shares. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Monday. Capital One Financial set a $224.00 target price on Verisk Analytics in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Raymond James Financial raised Verisk Analytics from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $215.00 to $260.00 in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on Verisk Analytics in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price objective for the company.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

Shares of Verisk Analytics stock opened at $187.36 on Tuesday. Verisk Analytics has a one year low of $164.60 and a one year high of $322.92. The company has a market cap of $25.84 billion, a PE ratio of 28.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.81. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $198.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $217.82.

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

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Verisk Analytics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.82%.

Verisk Analytics announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verisk Analytics

In related news, Director Christopher John Perry bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $180.00 per share, for a total transaction of $180,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 2,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $538,920. This represents a 50.15% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.71, for a total transaction of $81,884.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 20,384 shares in the company, valued at $4,172,808.64. This trade represents a 1.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Verisk Analytics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 1,200.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,264,323 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $730,196,000 after purchasing an additional 3,013,400 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Verisk Analytics during the second quarter worth approximately $556,192,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Verisk Analytics by 334.5% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 754,548 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $188,237,000 after buying an additional 580,885 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in Verisk Analytics by 1,879.0% in the third quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 566,235 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $142,414,000 after buying an additional 537,623 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 531,713 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

About Verisk Analytics

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.