Ryan Specialty (RYAN.US) Q4 revenue soared by 24%, dividends increased by 9%, Bank of America support target price rushed to $92.

Recently, the stock price target and rating dynamics of Ryan Specialty Holdings (RYAN.US) have attracted market attention. Bank of America Corp has a more optimistic view of Ryan Specialty, raising its target stock price from $89 to $92 and maintaining a buy rating. After incorporating fourth quarter earnings into the evaluation model, although forward earnings per share forecasts have been slightly reduced due to higher expense forecasts for 2025, the expansion of the S&P 500 P/E multiple is sufficient to offset this decrease, so Bank of America Corp has raised the company's target stock price. At the same time, Keefe Bruyette analysts have made a slight adjustment to the company's target price, lowering it from $77 to $76, but maintaining its "outperform" rating. Analysts point out in their report that while Ryan Specialty's fourth quarter earnings were in line with Wall Street expectations, profit margins are expected to be slightly weaker in 2025. Ryan Specialty Holdings recently announced fourth quarter and full year financial performance ending on December 31st, which were quite impressive. The company achieved a total revenue growth of 24.5%, with organic revenue growth of 11.0%. Specifically, fourth quarter revenue reached $663.5 million, a significant increase from $532.9 million in the same period of 2023. However, net profit declined to $42.6 million, with diluted earnings per share of $0.10, compared to a net profit of $58.5 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.18 in the same period last year. The decrease in net profit was mainly attributed to higher income tax expenses and interest expenses, but strong revenue growth partially offset this impact. Notably, adjusted EBITDAC (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, Amortization, and Commission costs) performed well, growing by 36.2% to $216 million year-over-year, and the adjusted EBITDAC profit margin also expanded from 29.8% in the same period last year to 32.6%. Looking back at the full year 2024, Ryan Specialty showed strong growth in all key indicators. Total revenue increased by 21.1% to $2.52 billion, organic revenue increased by 12.8%. Net income grew by 18.2% to $229.9 million, and adjusted EBITDAC increased by 29.8% to $811.2 million. Founder and Executive Chairman of Ryan Specialty, Patrick G. Ryan, commented, "This has been another outstanding year for Ryan Specialty. Our total revenue increased by 21%, with organic growth of 12.8% and acquisitions contributing 7% of revenue growth. This marks the sixth consecutive year of total revenue growth reaching or exceeding 20%." CEO Tim Turner also shared his insights, "Driven by significant growth in new business, we delivered excellent results in 2024 while maintaining strong renewal rates. Our recent acquisitions have not only expanded market share but also greatly expanded our overall target market." Looking ahead, Ryan Specialty expects organic revenue growth to be between 11% to 13% in 2025, and the adjusted EBITDAC profit margin to be between 32.5% to 33.5%. Furthermore, the board of directors announced a quarterly cash dividend policy, with $0.12 per share dividend to be paid to Class A common stockholders, representing a 9.1% increase. This dividend will be paid on March 18, 2025 to shareholders of record on March 4, 2025.