Brown & Brown (BRO) Q1 Earnings & Revenues Beat Estimates

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Brown & Brown, Inc. BRO first-quarter 2021 adjusted earnings of 70 cents per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 25%. Moreover, the bottom line improved 37.3% year over year.

Results benefited from more new business, good retention, and rate increases across all four divisions.

Brown & Brown, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Brown & Brown, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Brown & Brown, Inc. Quote

Q1 in Details

Total revenues of $815.3 million outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 7.9%. Moreover, the top line improved 16.7% year over year. The upside can primarily be attributed to increased commission and fees, and high organic growth.

Commissions and fees grew 16.9% year over year to $814 million. Organic revenues improved 9.8% to $734.1 million in the quarter under review.

Investment income decreased 75% year over year to $0.3 million.

EBITDAC was $291.6 million, up 20.5% year over year. EBITDAC margin expanded 120 basis points year over year to 35.8%.

Total expenses increased 16.8% to $576.1 million, courtesy of a rise in employee compensation and benefits, and amortization, interest and depreciation.

Financial Update

Brown & Brown exited first-quarter 2021 with cash and cash equivalents of $678.7 million, down 16.9% from 2020-end level.

Long-term debt of $2 billion as of Mar 31, 2021 was down 0.8% from 2020 end.

Net cash provided by operating activities in the first quarter was $125.1 million, up more than threefold year over year.

Dividend Update

Concurrent with the earnings release, Brown & Brown declared cash dividend of 9.25 cents per share in the first quarter. The dividend will be paid out on May 19, 2021 to shareholders of record as of May 10.

Zacks Rank

Brown & Brown currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Performance of Some Other Insurers

The Progressive Corporation’s PGR first-quarter 2021 earnings per share of $1.72 missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.78.

The Travelers Companies’ TRV first-quarter 2021 earnings per share of $2.73 beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.44.

W.R. Berkley Corporation’s WRB first-quarter 2021 earnings per share of $1.08 beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 21.3%.

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