Verisk Gains as Profit Beats Analysts’ Estimates: New York Mover

Feb. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Verisk Analytics Inc., the supplier of actuarial and risk data to lenders and insurers, jumped the most since October after fourth-quarter earnings beat analysts’ estimates on increased health-care revenue.

Verisk climbed 7.7 percent to close at a record-high $58.05 in New York, the top performance in the Russell 1000 Producer Durables Index. The Jersey City, New Jersey-based firm has gained 14 percent this year, compared with the 8.7 percent advance of the 138-company index.

Net income increased 22 percent to $98.3 million in the quarter, up from $80.3 million a year earlier, Verisk said yesterday in a statement. Operating profit, which excludes some items, was 63 cents a share, beating the 54-cent average estimate of 12 analysts in a Bloomberg survey. Revenue from the firm’s health-care unit increased 89 percent to $72.8 million.

“Verisk saw high demand for its payment accuracy fraud solutions” in its health-care division, William Warmington Jr., an analyst at Raymond James & Associates Inc., wrote in a note yesterday. He rates the shares outperform.

--Editors: Steven Crabill, Dan Kraut