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Verisk (VRSK) Rises 27% Year to Date: What You Should Know

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Verisk Analytics, Inc. (VRSK - Free Report) has had an impressive run year to date. The stock has gained 27.3%, significantly outperforming the 14.4% rally of the industry it belongs to and the 15.9% rise of the Zacks S&P 500 composite.

What’s Behind the Rally?

Verisk posted better-than-expected earnings and revenue performance in the last two quarters, driven by strong growth in underwriting & rating and claims.

The company has a robust growth strategy that focuses on organic growth, product development and acquisitions. Verisk continues to invest in people, data sets, analytic solutions, technology and complementary businesses to keep itself updated with changing requirements in the markets it serves. The company is maintaining its focus on increasing solution penetration with customers, developing a new proprietary database and predictive analytics, and expanding into new customer sectors.

Acquisitions form a key part of Verisk’s growth strategy. It has been continuously acquiring and investing in companies globally to expand data and analytics capabilities across industries. The March 2022 acquisition of Opta has expanded its footprint in the Canadian market. Another acquisition, Automated Insurance Solutions, increased the company’s automation capabilities in the claims ecosystem, helping it to expand geographically.

Verisk has a consistent record of rewarding its shareholders through dividend payments and share repurchases. The company paid $195.2 million, $188.2 million and $175.2 million in dividends in 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively. It repurchased shares worth $1.7 billion, $475 million and $348.8 million, respectively, in 2022, 2021 and 2020.

Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider

Verisk currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Investors interested in the Zacks Business Services sector can consider the following better-ranked stocks:

Green Dot (GDOT - Free Report) : GDOT currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and has a VGM Score of A. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The company has an impressive earnings surprise history, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all the trailing four quarters, with an average surprise of 37.3%.

Maximus (MMS - Free Report) : MMS carries a Zacks Rank of 2 at present and has a VGM Score of B.

The company has an impressive earnings surprise history, beating the consensus mark in three of the trailing quarters and missing once, the average surprise being 9.6%.


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