Geopolitical tensions, particularly conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, high inflation and catastrophe events, both natural and man-made, have put pressure on the insurance companies’ profitability over the past few years. Nevertheless, better pricing, prudent underwriting standards, increased exposure, streamlined operations, a wider global presence and a solid capital position have been tailwinds for the insurance industry. This, combined with accelerated digitalization and an improving rate environ ...

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Prudent underwriting, increasing rates in the auto business and exposure growth have helped the insurance industry perform well. Focus on increased automation, consumer-centric products and partnerships to grow the footprint bodes well for the industry. Rising interest rates resulted in strong sales for annuity businesses. These trends are expected to continue in 2025, and drive the top and bottom lines of insurance companies.The insurance industry has outperformed the Zacks S&P 500 composite and the Financ ...

On Dec 18, U.S. stock markets routed after the Fed cut the Fed fund rate by another 25 basis points but indicated just two rate cuts of 25 basis points in 2025 instead of four suggested in September. In his post-FOMC meeting, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said, “We can therefore be more cautious as we consider further adjustments to our policy rate.”Wall Street’s volatility is likely to continue in the near future as we are approaching the end of 2024. At this juncture, it will be fruitful to invest in low-bet ...

As we move closer to the New Year, we are all hoping for a prosperous 2025, which, in turn, will be reflected in our investment portfolio. The insurance industry has gained 29.6% year to date compared with the Finance sector’s increase of 21% and the Zacks S&P 500 composite’s rise of 28.3%. Despite an active catastrophe environment and rate cuts, the industry has outperformed, banking on better pricing, exposure growth and accelerated digitalization.Driven by their strength, insurers like The Allstate Corpo ...

Here are three stocks with buy rank and strong income characteristics for investors to consider today, December 18th:BBVA Banco Frances (BBAR) : This company which offers retail and corporate banking to individuals, SME's and large-sized companies in Argentina, has witnessed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings increasing 3.2% over the last 60 days.This Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) company has a dividend yield of 7.4%, compared with the industry average of 3.8%.Tapestry (TPR) : This comp ...

Here are five stocks added to the Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) List today:LATAM Airlines Group (LTM) : This company which offers domestic and international passenger and cargo air services primarily in Chile, the United States, the South Pacific, Europe and Latin America, has seen the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings increasing 26.4% over the last 60 days.Omnicell (OMCL) : This company which develops and markets end-to-end automation solutions for the medication-use process, has seen the ...

The most recent trading session ended with Allstate (ALL) standing at $195.02, reflecting a -0.63% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.38%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a drop of 0.25%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 1.24%.Shares of the insurer have depreciated by 0.31% over the course of the past month, underperforming the Finance sector's gain of 0.1% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.17%.Analysts and investors alike will be ...

Core Viewpoint - The article discusses the reliability of brokerage recommendations, particularly focusing on Allstate (ALL), and emphasizes the importance of using these recommendations in conjunction with other analytical tools like the Zacks Rank to make informed investment decisions [1][4]. Brokerage Recommendations - Allstate has an average brokerage recommendation (ABR) of 1.62, indicating a consensus between Strong Buy and Buy, based on 21 brokerage firms [2]. - Out of the 21 recommendations, 16 are Strong Buy and 1 is Buy, which accounts for 76.2% and 4.8% of all recommendations respectively [2]. Limitations of Brokerage Recommendations - Solely relying on brokerage recommendations may not be advisable, as studies indicate they often fail to guide investors effectively towards stocks with high potential for price appreciation [4]. - Brokerage analysts tend to exhibit a positive bias due to their firms' vested interests, leading to a disproportionate number of favorable ratings compared to negative ones [5][9]. Zacks Rank as an Alternative - The Zacks Rank, which classifies stocks from 1 (Strong Buy) to 5 (Strong Sell), is presented as a more reliable indicator of near-term price performance, based on earnings estimate revisions [7][10]. - The Zacks Rank is updated more frequently than the ABR, making it a timely tool for predicting future stock prices [11]. Current Earnings Estimates for Allstate - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Allstate has increased by 1.6% over the past month to $16.26, reflecting analysts' growing optimism about the company's earnings prospects [12]. - This increase in consensus estimates, along with other factors, has resulted in a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy) for Allstate, suggesting a positive outlook for the stock [13].

The Zacks Property and Casualty Insurance industry is placed within the top 11% of the 250 Zacks industries. It currently carries a Zack Industry Rank #28. The insurers remain well-poised for growth riding on better pricing, prudent underwriting, increased exposure, an improving rate environment, a solid capital position and ongoing economic expansion.The property and casualty (P&C) insurance industry has returned 33.8% in the year-to-date period, outperforming the Zacks S&P 500 composite and the Finance se ...