Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) PT Raised to $186.00

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK – Get Rating) had its target price boosted by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $181.00 to $186.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target indicates a potential downside of 0.49% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on VRSK. Raymond James boosted their target price on Verisk Analytics from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Redburn Partners initiated coverage on Verisk Analytics in a research report on Wednesday, January 11th. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. StockNews.com raised Verisk Analytics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $191.00 to $188.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verisk Analytics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.50.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRSK opened at $186.92 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.46. Verisk Analytics has a 1 year low of $156.05 and a 1 year high of $222.11. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $179.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $179.60. The company has a market cap of $28.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.36, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.84.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 1st. The business services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $630.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $615.30 million. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 41.53% and a net margin of 32.92%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.47 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verisk Analytics

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fiduciary Alliance LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 140.8% during the 2nd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 171 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Capital Directions Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. 89.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verisk Analytics Company Profile

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Verisk Analytics, Inc is a data analytics provider, which engages in the provision of data analytics for customers in insurance, energy markets and financial services. It operates through the following segments: Insurance, Energy & Specialized Markets, and Financial Services. The Insurance segment serves insurance customers and focuses on the prediction of loss, the selection and pricing of risk, and compliance.