Contrasting Brown & Brown (BRO) & Its Competitors

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) is one of 311 publicly-traded companies in the “Insurance” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its rivals? We will compare Brown & Brown to related companies based on the strength of its profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, risk and earnings.

Dividends

Brown & Brown pays an annual dividend of $0.66 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Brown & Brown pays out 20.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Insurance” companies pay a dividend yield of 2.8% and pay out 30.5% of their earnings in the form of a dividend.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

71.0% of Brown & Brown shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 55.9% of shares of all “Insurance” companies are held by institutional investors. 13.1% of Brown & Brown shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 13.6% of shares of all “Insurance” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Brown & Brown and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Brown & Brown	17.63%	13.29%	5.63%
Brown & Brown Competitors	9.09%	-9.90%	4.08%

Volatility & Risk

Brown & Brown has a beta of 0.52, suggesting that its share price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Brown & Brown’s rivals have a beta of -1.59, suggesting that their average share price is 259% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Brown & Brown and its rivals, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Brown & Brown	1	13	6	1	2.33
Brown & Brown Competitors	3326	15646	16494	739	2.40

Brown & Brown currently has a consensus target price of $75.47, indicating a potential upside of 2.04%. As a group, “Insurance” companies have a potential upside of 2.71%. Given Brown & Brown’s rivals stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Brown & Brown has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Brown & Brown and its rivals gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Brown & Brown	$5.90 billion	$1.05 billion	23.41
Brown & Brown Competitors	$15.64 billion	$1.70 billion	35.24

Brown & Brown’s rivals have higher revenue and earnings than Brown & Brown. Brown & Brown is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Summary

Brown & Brown rivals beat Brown & Brown on 8 of the 15 factors compared.

About Brown & Brown

Brown & Brown, Inc. is an insurance agency, wholesale brokerage, insurance program and service organization. It engages in the provision of insurance brokerage services and casualty insurance underwriting services. It operates through the following segments: Retail, National Programs, Wholesale Brokerage, and Services. The Retail Segment receives fees in lieu of commissions. The National Programs segment acts as a managing general agent and provides professional liability and related package products for certain professionals, a range of insurance products for individuals, flood coverage, and targeted products and services designated for specific industries, trade groups, governmental entities and market niches. The Wholesale Brokerage segment markets and sells excess and surplus commercial and personal lines insurance, primarily through independent agents and brokers, as well as the company’s retail agents. The Services segment provides insurance-related services, including third-party claims administration and comprehensive medical utilization management services in both the workers’ compensation and all-lines liability arenas, as well as Medicare Set-aside services, social security disability and Medicare benefits advocacy services and claims adjusting services. The company was founded by J. Adrian Brown and Charles Covington Owen in 1939 and is headquartered in Daytona Beach, FL.