Latest news with #IntactFinancial
Globe and Mail
4 days ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Why foreign property and casualty insurers are quitting Canada
In the fragmented domestic auto and home insurance industry, the big question is: Who will be next to exit? Last week, U.S. insurance giant Travelers surprised the market by selling its Canadian operations to Waterloo-based Definity Financial Corp. DFY-T for $3.3-billion. New York-based Travelers is the latest in a string of foreign-owned property and casualty (P&C) insurance company to quit the domestic market. Over the past decade, global insurers such as State Farm, AXA and Hartford opted to exit. While there have been numerous departures, there are still more than 150 P&C players competing in a consolidating sector where scale and marketing heft are increasingly critical to success. The vast majority have single-digit market share – Travelers had roughly 2 per cent of the market – and would need to spend billions to bulk up. There are also a handful of Canadian companies – including market leader Intact Financial Corp., Definity, Desjardins Group, Co-operators, Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. and Toronto-Dominion Bank – with ambitions to dominate the sector. Analysts say further auto and home insurer consolidation is as inevitable as highway fender benders on holiday weekends. Toronto-based Intact has moved onto the global stage as part of its consolidation strategy. In 2020, Intact and a Danish insurer acquired London-based RSA Insurance Group PLC, a major player in the Canadian market, for $12.4-billion. Institutional investors are willing to put money into consolidators such as Intact and Definity. Three larger domestic pension plans committed capital to the RSA purchase. Analysis: Why investors love Definity's big acquisition, helping the home and auto insurer extend its hot run For ambitious chief executives such as Intact CEO Charles Brindamour, an accomplished integrator of insurance businesses, the obvious next targets are Allstate Insurance Co. of Canada, which has a Chicago-based parent, and Aviva Insurance Co. of Canada, with an owner in London. Both companies have larger market share than Travelers, but similar challenges when it comes to further expanding their platforms. Both Allstate and Aviva will be looking at the economics behind the Definity deal and making a go-big-or-go-home decision. Travelers built its Canadian platform through acquisitions, highlighted by the 2013 purchase of Dominion of Canada General Insurance Co. for more than $1-billion. (Definity's acquisition of the company brings a business founded by Sir John A. Macdonald in 1887 back into Canadian hands.) Part of Travelers' expansion strategy centred on using a familiar U.S. brand – a red umbrella – to sell insurance north of the border. The campaign never really caught on. In part, that reflects a P&C industry that sells through independent agents, who care more about commissions than umbrellas. It also reflects domestic insurers spending heavily on advertising to sell online through flanker brands such Intact's Belair Direct and Definity-owned Sonnet. These campaigns drowned out Traveler's marketing. Travelers decided to sell at a time when industry dynamics favour P&C insurers, with what's known as a hard market on pricing. The Canadian division sold for 1.8 times its book value, an impressive premium. Travelers plans to use US$700-million of the sale's proceeds to buy back its own stock, a shareholder-friendly move. In soft insurance markets, when P&C insurers discount their rates to win customers, acquirers will offer far smaller premiums to book value on potential purchases. For Allstate and Aviva, this is a seller's market, one that may not last. Definity paid up for Travelers, and devoted the better part of a year negotiating the takeover, because the transaction vaulted the insurer into the country's top five players. The additional scale translates into $100-million a year in annual savings, a significant boost in the company's return on equity and a 30-per-cent increase in premiums. Definity went public in 2021 to do this sort of takeover, after being founded in 1871 as mutual company Economical Insurance, owned by its policyholders. CEO Rowan Saunders said in announcing the Travelers deal that 'this acquisition demonstrates our commitment to long-term growth and competitiveness.' It also avoids having Definity show up on lists of potential takeover targets, alongside Allstate and Aviva. As part of the initial public offering, the company and regulators struck a four-year moratorium on takeovers of Definity. The standstill agreement expires this fall. Buying Travelers should make Definity too large or too expensive for a domestic rival such as Intact to acquire. Or an even more tempting prize.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Intact Financial First Quarter 2025 Earnings: EPS Beats Expectations
Revenue: CA$6.38b (up 5.0% from 1Q 2024). Net income: CA$676.0m (up 3.0% from 1Q 2024). Profit margin: 11% (in line with 1Q 2024). EPS: CA$3.70 (up from CA$3.68 in 1Q 2024). This technology could replace computers: discover the 20 stocks are working to make quantum computing a reality. All figures shown in the chart above are for the trailing 12 month (TTM) period Revenue was in line with analyst estimates. Earnings per share (EPS) surpassed analyst estimates by 14%. Looking ahead, revenue is expected to decline by 9.5% p.a. on average during the next 2 years, while revenues in the Insurance industry in Canada are expected to grow by 6.4%. Performance of the Canadian Insurance industry. The company's share price is broadly unchanged from a week ago. It's still necessary to consider the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 1 warning sign with Intact Financial, and understanding it should be part of your investment process. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Intact Financial (TSE:IFC) Is Increasing Its Dividend To CA$1.33
Intact Financial Corporation (TSE:IFC) will increase its dividend from last year's comparable payment on the 31st of March to CA$1.33. Although the dividend is now higher, the yield is only 1.8%, which is below the industry average. See our latest analysis for Intact Financial Even a low dividend yield can be attractive if it is sustained for years on end. However, prior to this announcement, Intact Financial's dividend was comfortably covered by both cash flow and earnings. This means that most of what the business earns is being used to help it grow. Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to rise by 46.1% over the next year. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 30%, which is in the range that makes us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend. The company has an extended history of paying stable dividends. Since 2015, the annual payment back then was CA$1.92, compared to the most recent full-year payment of CA$5.32. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 11% a year over that time. It is good to see that there has been strong dividend growth, and that there haven't been any cuts for a long time. Investors could be attracted to the stock based on the quality of its payment history. We are encouraged to see that Intact Financial has grown earnings per share at 19% per year over the past five years. Growth in EPS bodes well for the dividend, as does the low payout ratio that the company is currently reporting. Overall, we think this could be an attractive income stock, and it is only getting better by paying a higher dividend this year. Distributions are quite easily covered by earnings, which are also being converted to cash flows. Taking this all into consideration, this looks like it could be a good dividend opportunity. Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. Taking the debate a bit further, we've identified 1 warning sign for Intact Financial that investors need to be conscious of moving forward. If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at our curated list of high yield dividend stocks. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Intact Financial (TSE:IFC) Is Increasing Its Dividend To CA$1.33
Intact Financial Corporation (TSE:IFC) will increase its dividend from last year's comparable payment on the 31st of March to CA$1.33. Although the dividend is now higher, the yield is only 1.8%, which is below the industry average. See our latest analysis for Intact Financial Even a low dividend yield can be attractive if it is sustained for years on end. However, prior to this announcement, Intact Financial's dividend was comfortably covered by both cash flow and earnings. This means that most of what the business earns is being used to help it grow. Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to rise by 46.1% over the next year. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 30%, which is in the range that makes us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend. The company has an extended history of paying stable dividends. Since 2015, the annual payment back then was CA$1.92, compared to the most recent full-year payment of CA$5.32. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 11% a year over that time. It is good to see that there has been strong dividend growth, and that there haven't been any cuts for a long time. Investors could be attracted to the stock based on the quality of its payment history. We are encouraged to see that Intact Financial has grown earnings per share at 19% per year over the past five years. Growth in EPS bodes well for the dividend, as does the low payout ratio that the company is currently reporting. Overall, we think this could be an attractive income stock, and it is only getting better by paying a higher dividend this year. Distributions are quite easily covered by earnings, which are also being converted to cash flows. Taking this all into consideration, this looks like it could be a good dividend opportunity. Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. Taking the debate a bit further, we've identified 1 warning sign for Intact Financial that investors need to be conscious of moving forward. If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at our curated list of high yield dividend stocks. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
