Citigroup Cuts Ryan Specialty (NYSE:RYAN) Price Target to $55.00

Ryan Specialty (NYSE:RYAN) had its price target trimmed by Citigroup from $60.00 to $55.00 in a report issued on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research cut Ryan Specialty from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. BMO Capital Markets lowered Ryan Specialty from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Ryan Specialty from $61.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Ryan Specialty in a research note on Monday, December 1st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $64.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Ryan Specialty from $63.00 to $56.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ryan Specialty presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.50.

Ryan Specialty Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of RYAN opened at $33.46 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.97. Ryan Specialty has a 1-year low of $32.64 and a 1-year high of $77.16. The stock has a market cap of $8.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.65.

Ryan Specialty (NYSE:RYAN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $751.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $777.43 million. Ryan Specialty had a net margin of 7.02% and a return on equity of 46.41%. Ryan Specialty’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Ryan Specialty will post 2.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ryan Specialty Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 24th were given a $0.13 dividend. This is a boost from Ryan Specialty’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 24th. Ryan Specialty’s dividend payout ratio is 123.81%.

Insider Transactions at Ryan Specialty

In related news, Director Patrick G. Ryan, Jr. bought 25,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $39.96 per share, for a total transaction of $1,018,980.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 428,295 shares in the company, valued at $17,114,668.20. This trade represents a 6.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 52.21% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ryan Specialty

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Ryan Specialty by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 59,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,406,000 after buying an additional 5,739 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ryan Specialty by 25.1% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $367,000 after buying an additional 998 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ryan Specialty by 46.3% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 376,154 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,787,000 after buying an additional 119,055 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Ryan Specialty by 11.3% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 332,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,586,000 after acquiring an additional 33,667 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning grew its position in Ryan Specialty by 15.4% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 4,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 613 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.82% of the company’s stock.

About Ryan Specialty

Ryan Specialty Group, Inc (NYSE: RYAN) is a global specialty insurance and reinsurance platform that partners with a network of insurers and reinsurers to deliver tailored risk solutions. The company focuses on complex and large-scale risks across multiple industry sectors, leveraging its underwriting expertise to structure coverage programs that meet clients’ unique needs.

Ryan Specialty’s core offerings span a diverse range of specialty lines, including casualty, property, professional liability, marine and energy, program administration, and sports and entertainment.