Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Reasons to Add Brown & Brown (BRO) Stock to Your Portfolio

Read MoreHide Full Article

Brown & Brown’s (BRO - Free Report) improving commission and fees and solid capital position, along with growth estimates, make it worth adding to one’s portfolio.

It has a solid surprise history, having delivered an earnings surprise in each of the last four reported quarters with an average beat of 20.09%.

Zacks Rank & Price Performance

Brown & Brown’s currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Quarter to date, the stock has gained 14.1% compared with the industry’s increase of 10.8%.

Zacks Investment ResearchImage Source: Zacks Investment Research

Growth Projections

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2021 earnings is pegged at 1.97, indicating a year-over-year increase of 18% on 12.4% higher revenues of $2.9 billion. The consensus estimate for 2022 earnings is pegged at $2.12, implying a year-over-year increase of 8% on 7% higher revenues of $3.1 billion.

Estimate Revision

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2021 and 2022 bottom line has moved 9.4% and 9.3% higher in the past 60 days, reflecting analyst optimism.

Business Tailwinds

Brown & Brown’s impressive growth is driven by organic and inorganic means across all segments. Improving new business and continued rate increases for most lines of coverage should continue to drive segmental performances.

The company estimates rate improvement to continue through 2021, given increased natural disasters and tort liability issues in the United States, among other factors.

Brown & Brown has an impressive inorganic story.  In over a span of a more than two decades, the company has acquired about 500 insurance intermediary operations.

The company has an impressive record of increasing dividend for the last 27 years at a five-year CAGR of 9.7%. It also has $336.2 million remaining under its share buyback authorization.

The company boasts five-year total shareholder returns of 205%, much above its peer group and the S&P 500. It carries a strong balance sheet with conservative debt leverage profile.

Other Stocks to Consider

Investors interested in insurance space can look at Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC - Free Report) , Cincinnati Financial Corporation (CINF - Free Report) and Alleghany Corporation , each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Marsh & McLennan delivered 17.06% earnings surprise in the last reported quarter.

Cincinnati Financial delivered an earnings surprise of 30.48% in the last-reported quarter.

Alleghany’s earnings beat estimates by 110.97% in the last reported quarter.

Bitcoin, Like the Internet Itself, Could Change Everything

Blockchain and cryptocurrency has sparked one of the most exciting discussion topics of a generation. Some call it the “Internet of Money” and predict it could change the way money works forever. If true, it could do to banks what Netflix did to Blockbuster and Amazon did to Sears. Experts agree we’re still in the early stages of this technology, and as it grows, it will create several investing opportunities.

Zacks’ has just revealed 3 companies that can help investors capitalize on the explosive profit potential of Bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies with significantly less volatility than buying them directly.

See 3 crypto-related stocks now >>

Published in