Wall Street Zen Downgrades Goosehead Insurance (NASDAQ:GSHD) to Sell

Goosehead Insurance (NASDAQ:GSHD) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

GSHD has been the topic of several other research reports. Zacks Research upgraded Goosehead Insurance from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Goosehead Insurance in a report on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Goosehead Insurance from $130.00 to $121.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 27th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Goosehead Insurance from $79.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, JMP Securities cut their price target on shares of Goosehead Insurance from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Goosehead Insurance currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.30.

Goosehead Insurance Trading Down 0.7%

GSHD opened at $71.57 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.34, a P/E/G ratio of 9.05 and a beta of 1.53. Goosehead Insurance has a 12 month low of $64.40 and a 12 month high of $127.99. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.89.

Goosehead Insurance (NASDAQ:GSHD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $90.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.25 million. Goosehead Insurance had a negative return on equity of 34.60% and a net margin of 8.55%.Goosehead Insurance’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Goosehead Insurance will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas Mcconnon sold 69,686 shares of Goosehead Insurance stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.62, for a total transaction of $5,130,283.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 269,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,827,485.64. This trade represents a 20.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark E. Jr. Jones acquired 873 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $74.44 per share, for a total transaction of $64,986.12. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $324,856.16. This trade represents a 25.01% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 7,973 shares of company stock valued at $577,487. Company insiders own 48.35% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Goosehead Insurance

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GSHD. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Goosehead Insurance by 480.4% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Goosehead Insurance by 802.0% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 442 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Goosehead Insurance by 73.8% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Goosehead Insurance by 71.4% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Goosehead Insurance by 41.7% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares in the last quarter.

About Goosehead Insurance

Goosehead Insurance (NASDAQ: GSHD) is a technology-driven insurance agency that connects consumers with a broad range of personal and commercial insurance products through an extensive network of independent insurance advisors. The company specializes in homeowners, auto, flood, dwelling fire, umbrella, life, and commercial lines coverage, working with multiple national and regional carriers to offer tailored policies. By combining advanced quoting tools with local market expertise, Goosehead streamlines the insurance shopping process and helps clients find competitive coverage options.

Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Westlake, Texas, Goosehead has grown its footprint across more than 40 states in the U.S.