Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Stock Price Crosses Below Two Hundred Day Moving Average on Analyst Downgrade

Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)’s share price crossed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $79.00 to $76.00. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $66.96 and traded as low as $64.87. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Brown & Brown shares last traded at $65.7440, with a volume of 3,756,229 shares traded.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on BRO. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Brown & Brown from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $77.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, October 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Brown & Brown from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Brown & Brown from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Brown & Brown from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.53.

Brown & Brown News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Brown & Brown this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Truist Securities maintained its Buy rating while lowering its price target to $85 from $90, indicating continued confidence in Brown & Brown’s longer-term prospects. Truist Securities Adjusts Price Target on Brown & Brown
• Positive Sentiment: Management outlined a goal of achieving $175 million in run-rate net EBITDAC synergies by the end of 2028, while projecting 2%–4% retail organic growth in 2027. The potential cost savings provide a longer-term earnings-support catalyst. Brown & Brown Synergy and Growth Outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Citigroup cut its price target to $76 from $79 and retained a Neutral rating. The revised target still implies potential upside, but the change reflects a more cautious view of near-term execution. Citigroup Brown & Brown Rating
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue was $1.70 billion versus the $1.76 billion consensus estimate, while adjusted EPS of $1.07 narrowly missed the $1.08 estimate. Revenue nevertheless increased 7.4% year over year, largely reflecting acquisition growth. Brown & Brown Q3 Revenue Miss
• Negative Sentiment: Organic growth was only 1.2% in a challenging rate environment, while softer specialty markets, accession-related costs and margin pressure weighed on results. The combination of top- and bottom-line misses explains the market’s negative reaction. BRO Q3 Earnings Miss and Margin Pressure

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brown & Brown

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Brown & Brown during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,418,571,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,608,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,017,847,000 after buying an additional 246,172 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $266,941,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 45.2% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,623,179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $236,268,000 after buying an additional 1,128,417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 5.1% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,569,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $232,786,000 after buying an additional 173,320 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $67.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.00 billion, a PE ratio of 20.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.11 and a quick ratio of 2.11.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 26th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.01). Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 17.75%. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is a boost from Brown & Brown’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.1650. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 4th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.78%.

Brown & Brown Company Profile

Brown & Brown, Inc is an insurance brokerage and risk management company headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida. The company helps businesses, public entities, individuals and other organizations identify, manage and transfer risk by arranging insurance coverage and providing related advisory services.

Its operations include retail insurance brokerage, national programs, wholesale brokerage and services. Brown & Brown offers property and casualty insurance, employee benefits, personal insurance, surety and other specialized coverage.