Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Short Interest Up 32.9% in February

Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 4,816,674 shares, an increase of 32.9% from the January 29th total of 3,623,777 shares. Currently, 3.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 3,302,976 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days. Based on an average daily volume of 3,302,976 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days. Currently, 3.5% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRSK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group set a $224.00 target price on Verisk Analytics in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Verisk Analytics from $237.00 to $223.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded Verisk Analytics from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verisk Analytics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.93.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRSK traded up $3.78 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $211.35. 248,939 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,061,014. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $206.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $227.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.42. Verisk Analytics has a 52 week low of $164.60 and a 52 week high of $322.92.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $778.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $773.74 million. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 29.56% and a return on equity of 357.00%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.61 earnings per share. Verisk Analytics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.450-7.75 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Verisk Analytics will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is a boost from Verisk Analytics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.73%.

Verisk Analytics declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verisk Analytics news, Director Christopher John Perry purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $180.00 per share, for a total transaction of $180,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 2,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $538,920. This represents a 50.15% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.54, for a total transaction of $65,862.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 14,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,738.10. This represents a 2.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verisk Analytics

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of VRSK. Capital International Investors raised its position in Verisk Analytics by 1,200.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,264,323 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $730,196,000 after acquiring an additional 3,013,400 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 2nd quarter valued at $556,192,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 334.5% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 754,548 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $188,237,000 after purchasing an additional 580,885 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 1,879.0% in the third quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 566,235 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $142,414,000 after purchasing an additional 537,623 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 232.3% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 760,599 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $191,298,000 after purchasing an additional 531,713 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

About Verisk Analytics

Verisk Analytics, Inc (NASDAQ: VRSK) is a data analytics and decision‑support provider that helps organizations assess and manage risk. The company supplies data, predictive models and software to customers in insurance, reinsurance, financial services, government, energy and other commercial markets. Its offerings are designed to support underwriting, pricing, claims management, catastrophe modeling, fraud detection and regulatory compliance, enabling clients to make more informed operational and strategic decisions.

Verisk’s product portfolio combines large proprietary datasets with analytics platforms and industry‑specific applications.