Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. BRO have rallied 53.6% year to date (YTD), outperforming the industry’s 34.7% growth. The insurer also outperformed the Zacks S&P 500 composite and the Finance sector’s return of 27.9% and 23.4%, respectively, YTD. With a market capitalization of $31.22 billion, the average volume of shares traded in the last three months was 1.5 million.

BRO Outperforms Industry, Sector, S&P YTD

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The expected long-term earnings growth is 11.7%. Earnings have grown 18.4% in the past five years, better than the industry average of 13.2%. This Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) insurance broker's bottom line outpaced estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 6.87%.

BRO Trading Above 50-Day Moving Average

Currently priced at $109.18, the stock is trading above the 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages (SMA) of $107.78 and $95.74, respectively, indicating solid upward momentum. SMA is a widely used technical analysis tool to predict future price trends by analyzing historical price data.

BRO’s Growth Projection Encourages

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Brown & Brown’s 2024 earnings per share indicates a year-over-year increase of 33.1%. The consensus estimate for revenues is pegged at $4.73 billion, implying a year-over-year improvement of 11.1%. The consensus estimate for 2025 earnings per share and revenues indicates an increase of 9.5% and 8.6%, respectively, from the corresponding 2024 estimates.

Optimistic Analyst Sentiment on BRO

One of the seven analysts covering the stock has raised estimates for 2024 and 2025 over the past 30 days. Thus, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 and 2025 moved 0.2% and 0.9% north, respectively, in the last 30 days.

Can the Stock Retain the Momentum?

Commissions and fees, the main component of the top line, benefit from increasing new business, strong retention and continued rate increases for most lines of coverage. The top line witnessed a five-year annual growth rate of 14%. The company met its intermediate annual revenue goal of $4 billion, doubling in the last five years.

The insurance broker continually makes investments in boosting organic growth and margin expansion. It boasts an industry-leading adjusted EBITDAC margin.

Brown & Brown’s strategic buyouts help it capitalize on growing market opportunities, strengthen its compelling products and service portfolio, expand global reach and accelerate its growth rate. For the third quarter of 2024, the insurance broker completed four acquisitions with estimated annual revenues of $8 million and continued to build relationships with many other companies. From 1993 through the third quarter of 2024, the company acquired 664 insurance intermediary operations.

Banking on operational expertise, BRO boasts a strong liquidity position with an improving leverage ratio. The strength of its operating model and diversity of businesses ensures strong cash conversion. The company effectively deploys cash into acquisitions, capital expenditure and wealth distribution for shareholders via dividend increases.

BRO has an impressive dividend history, raising dividends for 30 straight years. Dividends increased at a five-year CAGR of 8.7%. Its dividend yield is 0.5%.

Other Stocks to Consider

Some other top-ranked stocks from the insurance industry are EverQuote, Inc. EVER, CNO Financial Group, Inc. CNO and Radian Group Inc.  RDN, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for EverQuote’s 2024 and 2025 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 147.4% and 10.7%, respectively. It beat earnings estimates in each of the past four quarters, with an average surprise of 149.58%. Year to date, shares of EVER have rallied 51.4%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CNO Financial’s 2024 and 2025 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 20.7% and 0.6%. It beat earnings estimates in three of the past four quarters while missing in one, with an average surprise of 24.51%. Year to date, shares of CNO have gained 39.7%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Radian’s 2024 and 2025 revenues implies year-over-year growth of 6.4% and 4.8%, respectively. It beat earnings estimates in each of the past four quarters, with an average surprise of 17.65%. Year to date, shares of RDN have gained 21.4%.

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