Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Sets New 52-Week Low After Analyst Downgrade

Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday after Bank of America lowered their price target on the stock from $94.00 to $90.00. Bank of America currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Brown & Brown traded as low as $73.52 and last traded at $73.7460, with a volume of 1195407 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $79.62.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Mizuho set a $89.00 target price on shares of Brown & Brown and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Brown & Brown in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Brown & Brown from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.20.

Key Headlines Impacting Brown & Brown

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

• Positive Sentiment: Big top-line growth — total revenues rose ~35.7% to ~$1.6B for Q4, and full‑year revenue was up ~22.8%, reflecting the Accession acquisition and scale gains. GlobeNewswire: Q4 Release
• Positive Sentiment: Adjusted profitability improved — EBITDAC and Diluted Net Income Per Share (Adjusted) increased (Adjusted EPS reported at $0.93), signaling better operating performance on an adjusted basis. Reuters: Profit Rises
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor event — management will host a conference call/webcast (Jan 27) where management may clarify organic trends and integration plans for Accession; watch for commentary on margins and cash flow. Investor Slides/Release
• Neutral Sentiment: Company announcement — Brown & Brown announced the passing of its Chief Legal Officer; operational impact appears limited but it’s a management change to monitor. GlobeNewswire: CLO Passing
• Negative Sentiment: GAAP EPS weakness and mixed prints — GAAP diluted EPS fell to $0.59 (down ~19% YoY) and some outlets reported the quarter missed street EPS expectations on a GAAP basis, creating confusion vs. adjusted results and pressuring the stock. Business Insider / Quiver summary
• Negative Sentiment: Organic revenue declined 2.8% in Q4 and income‑before‑tax margin narrowed — underlying (core) growth is soft, meaning future growth may rely on further acquisitions. GlobeNewswire: Organic Revenue Details
• Negative Sentiment: Higher leverage from acquisitions — large acquisition cash outflows and increased long‑term debt balance have raised leverage and investor sensitivity to integration execution and interest costs. Quiver: Results & Balance Sheet
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst action — Bank of America lowered its price target from $94 to $90 and moved to neutral, which likely added selling pressure. Benzinga: BofA Target Cut
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction — several outlets reported shares fell after the print, reflecting investor concern over the mix of acquisition-driven growth, GAAP EPS weakness and organic softness. MSN: Shares Fall

Institutional Trading of Brown & Brown

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 81.1% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,479,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,639,392,000 after purchasing an additional 7,827,992 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Brown & Brown by 16.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,625,322 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,949,779,000 after buying an additional 5,124,203 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Brown & Brown in the 2nd quarter valued at $433,740,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,416,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,445,888,000 after buying an additional 1,821,229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners bought a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the 2nd quarter worth about $171,163,000. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Brown & Brown Stock Down 7.4%

The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $79.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $88.11. The company has a market capitalization of $25.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.81.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.65 billion. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 13.64% and a net margin of 18.23%.Brown & Brown’s revenue was up 35.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.86 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 4th will be issued a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 4th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.76%.

About Brown & Brown

Brown & Brown, Inc (NYSE: BRO) is a professional insurance brokerage and risk advisory firm that provides a broad range of property and casualty, employee benefits, personal risk, and specialty insurance products. The company works with commercial, public sector and individual clients to design and place insurance programs, manage claims and loss control, and deliver risk management consulting. Its services also include wholesale brokerage, program administration and other specialty distribution solutions that connect carriers and intermediaries to niche markets.

Brown & Brown operates through a decentralized model of operating units and subsidiaries, enabling local client service with the scale to access national and specialty markets.