Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,570,000 shares, a growth of 28.5% from the February 28th total of 2,000,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 783,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.3 days. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRSK has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of 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 upped their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $283.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays lowered Verisk Analytics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $310.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $299.33.

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

VRSK stock opened at $294.58 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $290.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $281.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.89. Verisk Analytics has a 1 year low of $217.34 and a 1 year high of $306.10.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $735.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $733.55 million. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 274.13% and a net margin of 32.65%. Analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Verisk Analytics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.87%.

Verisk Analytics declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verisk Analytics

In related news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 2,111 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at $2,557,155.96. This represents a 18.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.81, for a total value of $321,642.99. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,760,958.66. This trade represents a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,648 shares of company stock valued at $1,613,047. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verisk Analytics

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of VRSK. 111 Capital purchased a new position in Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter worth $317,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 21,240 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,850,000 after buying an additional 4,137 shares during the period. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ purchased a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter worth about $12,985,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,981,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $96,000. 90.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verisk Analytics Company Profile

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.