Brown & Brown Inc. (BRO): Today's Featured Insurance Winner

Brown & Brown (BRO) pushed the Insurance industry higher today making it today's featured insurance winner. The industry as a whole closed the day down 0.8%. By the end of trading, Brown & Brown rose 24 cents (0.9%) to $26.21 on heavy volume. Throughout the day, 1.7 million shares of Brown & Brown exchanged hands as compared to its average daily volume of 934,500 shares. The stock ranged in a price between $25.74-$26.44 after having opened the day at $25.92 as compared to the previous trading day's close of $25.97. Other companies within the Insurance industry that increased today were: First Acceptance Corporation (FAC), up 7.1%, Homeowners Choice (HCII), up 4%, Crawford & Company (CRD.A), up 3.5%, and China Life Insurance (LFC), up 1.9%.

Brown & Brown, Inc., a diversified insurance agency, engages in the marketing and sale of insurance products and services in the United States. Its Retail division provides insurance products and services to commercial, public and quasi-public entity, professional, and individual customers. Brown & Brown has a market cap of $3.65 billion and is part of the financial sector. The company has a P/E ratio of 22.2, equal to the average insurance industry P/E ratio and above the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Shares are up 12% year to date as of the close of trading on Tuesday. Currently there are eight analysts that rate Brown & Brown a buy, one analyst rates it a sell, and seven rate it a hold.

TheStreet Ratings rates Brown & Brown as a buy. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, reasonable valuation levels, growth in earnings per share and increase in net income. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company shows weak operating cash flow.

• You can view the full Brown & Brown Ratings Report.

On the negative front, National Security Group (NSEC), down 8.5%, Unico American Corporation (UNAM), down 7.9%, Kingsway Financial Services (KFS), down 5.3%, and Kingstone Companies (KINS), down 4.7%, were all losers within the insurance industry with Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) being today's insurance industry loser.

• Use our insurance section to find industry-relevant news.
• Or find some new ideas from our top rated stocks lists.

For investors not wanting singular stock exposure, ETFs may be of interest. Investors who are bullish on the insurance industry could consider KBW Insurance ETF (KIE) while those bearish on the insurance industry could consider Proshares Short Financials (SEF).

• Find other investment ideas from our top rated ETFs lists.

For more information on Brown & Brown Inc. click any of the following:

• Brown & Brown Inc. Stock Price

• Brown & Brown Inc. Analyst Ratings

• Brown & Brown Inc. Key Stats & Profile

• Brown & Brown Inc. Earnings

• Brown & Brown Inc. Ratio Comparison

• Brown & Brown Inc. Growth Rates

• Brown & Brown Inc. Balance Sheet

• Brown & Brown Inc. Cash Flow

• Brown & Brown Inc. Income Statement