Citigroup Begins Coverage on Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO)

Analysts at Citigroup began coverage on shares of Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. Citigroup’s target price indicates a potential upside of 17.72% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also commented on BRO. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Brown & Brown from $122.00 to $106.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Brown & Brown from $127.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Brown & Brown from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $126.00 to $119.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Brown & Brown from $120.00 to $109.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Brown & Brown currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.93.

Brown & Brown Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE BRO opened at $95.14 on Wednesday. Brown & Brown has a 1-year low of $90.38 and a 1-year high of $125.68. The company has a current ratio of 6.72, a quick ratio of 6.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $103.39 and a 200-day moving average of $110.45. The firm has a market cap of $31.38 billion, a PE ratio of 27.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.78.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 19.89%. Brown & Brown’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.93 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Brown & Brown will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Brown & Brown

In related news, Director Bronislaw Edmund Masojada purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $91.44 per share, for a total transaction of $91,440.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $457,200. This represents a 25.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Paul J. Krump purchased 2,678 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $93.31 per share, for a total transaction of $249,884.18. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 5,353 shares in the company, valued at $499,488.43. The trade was a 100.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 17.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Brown & Brown

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bares Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Brown & Brown by 534.1% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Brown & Brown by 298.5% during the 2nd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Brown & Brown by 581.8% during the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Company Profile

Brown & Brown, Inc is an insurance agency, wholesale brokerage, insurance program and service organization. It engages in the provision of insurance brokerage services and casualty insurance underwriting services. It operates through the following segments: Retail, National Programs, Wholesale Brokerage, and Services.