Goosehead Insurance (NASDAQ:GSHD) Cut to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Goosehead Insurance (NASDAQ:GSHD) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report released on Thursday, Zacks reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on GSHD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $80.00 target price on shares of Goosehead Insurance in a research report on Monday, October 12th. UBS Group increased their price target on Goosehead Insurance from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Goosehead Insurance from $58.00 to $48.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $76.00 price objective on shares of Goosehead Insurance in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Goosehead Insurance from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $64.42.

Goosehead Insurance Price Performance

GSHD stock opened at $48.50 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.23. The company has a market capitalization of $1.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.46. Goosehead Insurance has a 12 month low of $33.68 and a 12 month high of $79.85.

Goosehead Insurance (NASDAQ:GSHD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.17. Goosehead Insurance had a net margin of 8.78% and a negative return on equity of 21.00%. The firm had revenue of $95.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $103.30 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Goosehead Insurance will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Adrienne Kebodeaux sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $490,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 273,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,111,890. This trade represents a 2.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Durable Capital Partners Lp acquired 150,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $47.32 per share, for a total transaction of $7,098,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 2,720,260 shares in the company, valued at approximately $128,722,703.20. This trade represents a 5.84% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have acquired 226,333 shares of company stock worth $11,816,524 and have sold 267,000 shares worth $18,056,139. Corporate insiders own 38.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Goosehead Insurance

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GSHD. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its position in Goosehead Insurance by 32.3% during the first quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,292,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,786,000 after buying an additional 559,087 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Goosehead Insurance by 3,485.1% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 386,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,506,000 after acquiring an additional 376,114 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Goosehead Insurance by 28.2% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 329,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,049,000 after acquiring an additional 72,527 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Goosehead Insurance by 23.2% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 219,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,374,000 after acquiring an additional 41,334 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Goosehead Insurance by 9.4% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 163,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,973,000 after acquiring an additional 14,051 shares during the period.

Goosehead Insurance Company Profile

Goosehead Insurance, Inc is an independent insurance agency that distributes personal and commercial insurance products through a network of corporate and franchise locations. The company uses technology and relationships with multiple insurance carriers to help customers compare coverage options and select policies suited to their needs.

Its offerings primarily include homeowners, automobile, renters, flood, umbrella and other personal insurance products, along with selected commercial insurance solutions.