Short Interest in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) Rises By 16.3%

Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,720,000 shares, an increase of 16.3% from the May 31st total of 3,200,000 shares. Currently, 1.6% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,200,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.1 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on BRO shares. Truist Financial upped their price target on Brown & Brown from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Brown & Brown from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Brown & Brown from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.40.

Brown & Brown Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:BRO opened at $89.64 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.78. The company has a market capitalization of $25.57 billion, a PE ratio of 27.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.82. Brown & Brown has a twelve month low of $66.53 and a twelve month high of $93.75.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.22 billion. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 21.09% and a return on equity of 16.43%. Brown & Brown’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Brown & Brown will post 3.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th were issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Brown & Brown’s payout ratio is 16.00%.

Insider Transactions at Brown & Brown

In other Brown & Brown news, EVP Julie Turpin sold 3,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.92, for a total value of $301,232.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,121,842.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 16.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Brown & Brown

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BRO. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in Brown & Brown by 0.5% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 25,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,243,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC now owns 6,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $449,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC increased its position in Brown & Brown by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 16,677 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,186,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Brown & Brown by 22.8% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its position in Brown & Brown by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 41,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,638,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Company Profile

Brown & Brown, Inc markets and sells insurance products and services in the United States, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Retail, National Programs, Wholesale Brokerage, and Services. The Retail segment provides property and casualty, employee benefits insurance products, personal insurance products, specialties insurance products, risk management strategies, loss control survey and analysis, consultancy, and claims processing services.