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a day ago
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BHF Outperforms Industry, Trades at a Discount: How to Play the Stock
Shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. BHF have gained 37.7% in the past year, outperforming its industry, the Finance sector and the Zacks S&P 500 composite's growth of 17.3%, 19.6% and 10.8%, respectively. The insurer has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion. The average volume of shares traded in the last three months was 0.8 million. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Brighthouse Financial's shares are trading at a discount compared to the industry. Its forward price-to-book value of 0.63X is lower than the industry average of 1.97X, the Finance sector's 4.16X and the Zacks S&P 500 Composite's 8.09X. BHF is also cheaper compared with Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated RGA, Sun Life Financial Inc. SLF and Manulife Financial Corp MFC. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Shares of Brighthouse Financial closed at $57.67 on Tuesday and are trading above the 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages (SMA) of $56.18 and $52.08, indicating solid upward momentum. SMA is a widely used technical analysis tool to predict future price trends by analyzing historical price data. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Brighthouse Financial's 2025 revenues is pegged at $8.84 billion, implying a year-over-year improvement of 1.4%. The consensus estimate for 2026 earnings per share and revenues indicates an increase of 14.5% and 1.8%, respectively, from the corresponding 2025 estimates. Earnings have grown 16.5% in the past five years, better than the industry average of 7.8%. BHF beat earnings estimates in two of the past four quarters and missed in the other two, with an average surprise of 9.3%. Based on short-term price targets offered by 10 analysts, the Zacks average price target is $58.50 per share. The average suggests a potential 0.66% downside from the last closing price. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Three of the six analysts covering the stock have lowered estimates for 2025, while one analyst has lowered the same for 2026 over the past 30 Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 earnings has moved down 2.7% in the past 30 days, while the same for 2026 has moved down 0.8% in the same time frame. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research BHF's trailing 12-month return on equity is 25.6%, ahead of the industry average of 15.37%. Return on equity, a profitability measure, reflects how effectively a company is utilizing its shareholders. Brighthouse Financial is one of the largest providers of life insurance products in the United States. Given the expansive and compelling suite of life products, the company should benefit from the growing individual insurance market. The insurer remains focused on ramping up sales of life insurance products and expanding its distribution network, aiming to become a premier player in the remained focused on enhancing its product portfolio with the launch of Shield Level Pay Plus, which is an addition to the suite of Shield Annuities. Strong Shield Level Annuity sales and higher fixed indexed annuity sales from the company's recently launched SecureKey product boosted the Annuity sales. Fixed deferred annuities also contributed to the growth. Improved underwriting margin and net investment income should contribute to higher Life insurance Financial should benefit from the growing individual insurance market. BHF remains focused on ramping up new sales of life insurance products, strengthening annuity products and expanding its distribution network, aiming to become a premier player in the industry. Strong Shield Level Annuity sales and higher fixed indexed annuity sales from the recently launched SecureKey product contributed to higher Annuity sales. Higher underwriting margins and net investment income boosted Life insurance sales. Execution of the life insurance strategy, including the addition of new distribution partners and wholesalers, is expected to drive investment income has been exhibiting an improving trend over the past few quarters. Riding on alternative investment income, asset growth and higher interest rates, the insurer expects the metric to improve in the future. Given a well-diversified and high-quality portfolio as well as a conservative investment strategy, we expect the metric to improve in the future. Brighthouse Financial continued to focus on maintaining the strength of the balance sheet. Given enhanced financial strength and flexibility, the company remains committed to returning capital to shareholders and intends to maintain an opportunistic share repurchase program to create significant value for them. Higher annuity and life insurance sales, a high-quality portfolio and effective capital deployment position the life insurer well for growth. A robust capital position over the years reflects its financial flexibility. The launch of SecureKey product, Fixed deferred annuities, as well as Shield Level Pay Plus, should boost Brighthouse Financial's product return on capital, favorable growth estimates, as well as attractive valuations, should continue to benefit Brighthouse Financial over the long the bearish analysts' sentiment, it is better to stay cautious about this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Manulife Financial Corp (MFC) : Free Stock Analysis Report Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated (RGA) : Free Stock Analysis Report Sun Life Financial Inc. (SLF) : Free Stock Analysis Report Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (BHF) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research 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
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05-06-2025
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PRU Lags Industry, Trades at a Discount: What Should Investors Do Now?
Shares of Prudential Financial Inc. PRU have lost 11.4% in the past year, underperforming the industry, the Zacks S&P 500 composite and the Finance sector's growth of 8.1%, 11.4% and 19.5%, insurer has a market capitalization of $36.73 billion. The average volume of shares traded in the last three months was 1.9 million. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research PRU shares are trading at a price to forward 12-months earnings of 7.34X, lower than the industry average of 8.91X, the Finance sector's 16.21X and the Zacks S&P 500 Composite's 21.83X. Its pricing, at a discount to the industry average, gives a better entry point to investors. Also, it has a Value Score of A. Shares of other insurers like Horace Mann Educators Corporation HMN and EverQuote, Inc. EVER are trading at a multiple higher than the industry average, while shares of MGIC Investment Corporation MTG are trading at a discount to the industry average. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Prudential Financial's 2025 earnings per share indicates a year-over-year increase of 8.2%. The consensus estimate for 2026 earnings per share and revenues indicates an increase of 8.2% and 4.1%, respectively, from the corresponding 2025 estimates. Three of the nine analysts covering the stock have lowered estimates for 2025, while two analysts have lowered the same for 2026 over the past 30 Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 earnings has moved down 0.8% in the past 30 days, while the same for 2026 has moved down 0.2% in the same time frame. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Based on short-term price targets offered by 15 analysts, the Zacks average price target is $114.87 per share. The average indicates a potential 10% upside from the last closing price. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research PRU's trailing 12-month return on equity is 15.8%, ahead of the industry average of 14.8%. Return on equity, a profitability measure, reflects how effectively a company is utilizing its shareholders. Prudential Financial is witnessing huge demand for retirement benefit products for baby boomers, which is expected to continue. The U.S. Census Bureau projects that nearly 25% of the population will be 65 years or older by 2050. PRU's vast distribution network, compelling product portfolio and superior brand image will give it a competitive edge. The company intends to be a global leader in expanding its access to investment, insurance and retirement security. It undertakes several strategic initiatives, which poise it well for long-term growth. It continues to invest in the long-term sustainable growth of the business through programmatic acquisitions and partnerships in emerging markets to build scale and complement businesses in support of long-term growth. Prudential Financial has a strong international presence that gives it more organic growth opportunities than its peers. Expanding its international business is vital for long-term growth. PRU has a strong footprint in Japan, which offers attractive opportunities to capitalize on protection products and retirement needs and has historically generated ROE in the 20% range. Its business in Brazil has gained sufficient scale and should become an important contributor to earnings growth in the international division over the next few years. It has also expanded in Malaysia, which is an attractive market with low life insurance penetration, a well-developed regulatory environment and long-term growth has been increasing its dividend for the past 16 years. The company continues to balance investments in the growth of businesses with returning capital to shareholders. Prudential Financial continues to benefit from its solid asset-based businesses, improved margins in the Group Insurance business and international operations. A high-performing asset management business and deeper reach in the pension risk transfer market are catalysts for long-term growth. Prudential Financial's exposure to products like annuities and universal life, which guarantee a minimum return, will strain its capital. Its results have been suffering due to additional reserve accretion required when the low interest rate increases the value of these liabilities. The company expects individual annuities sales to continue to be lower in the near term due to the repricing and repositioning of products. Lower sales reflect its pivot to less market-sensitive products. PRU also has a VGM Score of B. Stocks with a favorable VGM Score are those with the most attractive value, best growth and most promising momentum compared with peers. Given its bearish analysts' sentiment, we prefer to remain cautious on this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report MGIC Investment Corporation (MTG) : Free Stock Analysis Report Prudential Financial, Inc. (PRU) : Free Stock Analysis Report EverQuote, Inc. (EVER) : Free Stock Analysis Report Horace Mann Educators Corporation (HMN) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research 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
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02-06-2025
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AIZ Outperforms Industry, Trades at a Discount: How to Play the Stock
Shares of Assurant, Inc. AIZ have gained 17.6% in the past year, outperforming its industry and the Zacks S&P 500 composite's growth of 7.5% and 11.9%, respectively. It, however, underperformed the Finance sector's return of 18.1%. The insurer has a market capitalization of $10.29 billion. The average volume of shares traded in the last three months was 0.5 bottom line surpassed earnings estimates in each of the last four quarters, the average being 15.99%. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Assurant shares are trading at a discount compared to the industry. Its forward price-to-book value of 1.97X is lower than the industry average of 2.48X, the Finance sector's 4.08X and the Zacks S&P 500 Composite's 7.96X. Shares of other insurers like Radian Group Inc. RDN, Enact Holdings, Inc. ACT and CNO Financial Group, Inc. CNO are also trading at a discount to the industry average. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Assurant's 2025 revenues is pegged at $12.58 billion, implying a year-over-year improvement of 5.2%. The consensus estimate for 2026 earnings per share and revenues indicates an increase of 18.5% and 4.3%, respectively, from the corresponding 2024 estimates. Earnings have grown 16.6% in the past five years, better than the industry average of 10.1%. Four of the five analysts covering the stock have raised estimates for 2025 and 2026 over the past 30 days. Thus, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 earnings has moved up 1.1% in the past 30 days, and for 2026, the same has moved north 1.5% in the same time frame. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Shares of Assurant closed at $202.98 on Friday and are trading above the 50-day simple moving average (SMA) of $197.65, indicating solid upward momentum. SMA is a widely used technical analysis tool to predict future price trends by analyzing historical price data. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Return on equity in the trailing 12 months was 15.4%, better than the industry average of 14.9%. This highlights the company's efficiency in utilizing shareholders' funds. Also, the return on invested capital (ROIC) has been increasing over the last few quarters as the company raised its capital investment over the same time frame, reflecting AIZ's efficiency in utilizing funds to generate income. ROIC in the trailing 12 months was 9.9%, better than the industry average of 2%. Assurant's focus on growing fee-based capital-light businesses, which account for 52% of segmental revenues, bodes well for growth. Management estimates that the contribution from the same will continue to grow in double digits over the long term. Within Connected Living, AIZ continues to support long-term growth through the development of innovative offerings for partners. U.S. Connected Living is poised for solid growth, particularly within the mobile protection business, riding on innovative offerings, customer experience expertise and improved relationships with mobile carriers and cable operators. Homeowners' top-line growth, more favorable loss experience from prior-period development on claims, growth in policies in-force and higher average premiums within lender-placed, as well as growth across various specialty products, should drive better results at Global Housing. For 2025, AIZ expects Global Housing adjusted EBITDA, excluding reportable catastrophes, to Lifestyle growth is expected to be driven by Connected Living from growth in global mobile device protection and a new financial services program, inorganic and organic growth strategies. For 2025, Assurant expects adjusted EBITDA in this segment to increase from growth in Connected Living and Global Automotive. The insurer remains focused on ramping up the Connected Living platform, deploying innovative products and services, and adding new partnerships. These initiatives are expected to double the margins of Connected Living to 8% over the long term. Assurant has a solid capital management policy. It expects to deploy capital to fund investments, mergers and acquisitions. In November 2024, the board approved a dividend hike of 11%, which is the 20th consecutive year of increase. In the first quarter of 2025, Assurant repurchased shares for $62 million. As of now, $287 million remains under the current repurchase authorization. From a share repurchase perspective, Assurant's expected range for 2025 is between $200 million and $300 million, subject to M&A as well as market and other conditions. For the remainder of 2025, AIZ continues to expect share repurchases will remain more balanced due to the ability of its businesses to generate significant cash flow. The ultimate level of repurchases will depend on M&A opportunities and other market conditions. Focus on capital-light businesses, Homeowners growth, and Connected Living growth within the mobile protection business should favor Assurant's results. Higher return on capital, as well as favorable growth estimates and attractive valuations, should continue to benefit the insurer over the long term. Assurant also has an impressive dividend history, reflecting capital strength, that are expected to be attractive to generate long-term value for shareholders. The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report CNO Financial Group, Inc. (CNO) : Free Stock Analysis Report Assurant, Inc. (AIZ) : Free Stock Analysis Report Radian Group Inc. (RDN) : Free Stock Analysis Report Enact Holdings, Inc. (ACT) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research
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30-05-2025
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Radian Group Near 52-Week High: Time to Buy, Sell or Hold the Stock?
Shares of Radian Group Inc. RDN closed at $34.24 on May 29, near its 52-week high of $37.86. This proximity underscores investor confidence. It has the ingredients for further price appreciation. The stock is trading above the 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages (SMA) of $32.81 and $33.51, respectively, indicating solid upward momentum. SMA is a widely used technical analysis tool to predict future price trends by analyzing historical price a capitalization of $4.6 billion, the average number of shares traded in the last three months was 1.7 million. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Shares of Radian Group have gained 7.9% year to date, outperforming its industry and the Finance sector's growth of 3.9% and 4.8%, respectively. The Zacks S&P 500 composite has declined 0.3% in the same time frame. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research RDN has outperformed its peers, Old Republic International Corporation ORI, which has gained 3.9% year to date, while MetLife, Inc. MET and Assurant, Inc. AIZ have lost 3.6% and 6.2%, respectively. Radian Group shares are trading at a forward price-to-book value of 1.05X, lower than the industry average of 2.44X, the Finance sector's 4.06X and the Zacks S&P 500 Composite's 7.94X. Its pricing, at a discount to the industry average, gives a better entry point to investors. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Radian Group's 2025 revenues is pegged at $1.26 billion, implying a year-over-year improvement of 0.9%. The consensus estimate for 2026 earnings per share and revenues indicates an increase of 3% and 3.2%, respectively, from the corresponding 2025 Group has a solid surprise history. The multi-line insurer has a solid track record of beating earnings estimates in each of the last four quarters, the average being 12.45%. One of the two analysts covering the stock has lowered estimates for 2025 and 2026 over the past 30 days. Thus, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 earnings has moved down 0.2% in the past 30 days, and for 2026, the same has moved down 0.7% in the same time frame. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Radian Group's heightened focus on the core business and services with higher growth potential ensures a predictable and recurring fee-based revenue business, combined with increasing annual persistency, should drive continued growth of the insurance-in-force portfolio. Radian Group's mortgage insurance portfolio creates a strong foundation for future earnings. RDN has been witnessing a declining pattern of claim filings. We expect paid claims to decline further, thus strengthening the balance sheet and improving its financial mortgage insurer has been strengthening its capital position with capital contribution, reinsurance transaction and cash position. This helps Radian Group engage in wealth distribution via dividend hikes and share buybacks. Return on capital in the trailing 12 months was 13.5%, lower than the industry average of 14.9%, reflecting RDN's inefficiency in utilizing funds to generate income. Radian Group expects the private mortgage insurance market to be approximately 10% bigger in 2025 than in 2024. Improving mortgage insurance portfolio, declining claims, a solid capital position and effective capital deployment should continue to favor mortgage insurers over the long term. The 4.1% increase in quarterly dividend in the first quarter of 2025 marks the sixth consecutive year. RDN has increased the quarterly dividend, which has more than doubled over the past five years. Its current dividend yield of 2.9% betters the industry average of 2.6%, making it an attractive pick for yield-seeking solid growth projections as well as attractive valuations are other positives. However, given bearish analysts' sentiment and poor return on equity, it is better to wait for some more time before taking a call on this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report MetLife, Inc. (MET) : Free Stock Analysis Report Assurant, Inc. (AIZ) : Free Stock Analysis Report Radian Group Inc. (RDN) : Free Stock Analysis Report Old Republic International Corporation (ORI) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research
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27-05-2025
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CNA Financial Near 52-Week High: Time to Buy, Sell or Hold the Stock?
CNA Financial Corporation CNA closed at $47.00 on Friday, near its 52-week high of $52.36. This proximity underscores investor confidence. It has the ingredients for further price a market capitalization of $12.71 billion, the average volume of shares traded in the last three months was 0.3 million. CNA Financial shares are trading at a forward price-to-book value of 1.24X, lower than the industry average of 1.54X, the Finance sector's 4.3X and the Zacks S&P 500 Composite's 7.98X. Its pricing, at a discount to the industry average, gives a better entry point to investors. Also, it has a Value Score of B. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Shares of other P&C insurers like RLI Corp. RLI, Arch Capital Group Ltd. ACGL and Cincinnati Financial Corporation CINF are trading at a multiple higher than the industry average. Shares of CNA Financial have gained 5.5% in the past year compared with the industry, the Finance sector and the Zacks S&P 500 composite's growth of 22.7%, 17.4%, and 9.3%, respectively. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CNA Financial's 2025 revenues is pegged at $13.43 billion, implying a year-over-year improvement of 5.4%. The consensus estimate for 2026 earnings per share and revenues indicates an increase of 10.8% and 3.5%, respectively, from the corresponding 2024 estimates. Each of the two analysts covering the stock has lowered estimates for 2025 while one has raised the same for 2026 over the past 30 days. Thus, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 earnings has moved down 5.4% in the past 30 days, while the same for 2026 has moved up 1.3% in the same time frame. CNA Financial's premiums should continue to grow on solid retention, favorable renewal premium change and new business growth across Specialty, Commercial and International improving rate environment is favorable for an insurer. Amid the lower rate environment, the company's fixed-income investment strategy with the highest allocations to diversified investment grade corporates, as well as highly rated municipal securities, should support investment Financial has a solid balance sheet with capital remaining above the target levels required for all ratings. It exited the first quarter with statutory capital and surplus in the combined Continental Casualty Companies of $11 billion. CNA Financial continues to maintain a conservative capital structure. It maintains liquidity in the form of cash and short-term investments, which helps to sustain business financial position enables CNA Financial to engage in shareholder-friendly moves like dividend hikes. The insurer's dividend history is impressive, as it witnessed a 10-year CAGR (2015-2025) of 6.3%. The current dividend yield of 3.6% is better than the industry average of 0.2%. On the back of a disciplined execution, denoted by strong underwriting results and confidence in future earnings performances, the insurer has been hiking dividends, apart from paying special dividends over the past couple of years. Thus, the company remains committed to returning more value to shareholders. CNA Financial's trailing 12-month ROE of 11.9% is better than the industry average of 7.8%. CNA Financial, being a property and casualty insurer, remains exposed to catastrophe loss stemming from natural disasters and weather-related events. Catastrophe losses were primarily related to Hurricane Milton. Catastrophe losses pose an inherent risk to the P&C insurance business because of their unpredictability, inducing volatility in the company's Financial has also been witnessing escalating expenses over the past few years, primarily due to increasing net incurred claims and benefits and amortization of deferred acquisition costs. The company's net operating income has been affected by this increasing trend, which, in turn, might hurt its overall profitability. Solid retention, favorable renewal premium change and new business growth across its segments will continue to induce growth for CNA Financial. As part of wealth distribution to shareholders, CNA also has an impressive dividend history, reflecting capital strength, that are expected to be attractive to generate long-term value for growth estimates, higher return on capital and attractive valuation also add to the upside. However, given its exposure to catastrophe loss and higher expenses, it is better to wait for some more time before taking a call on this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report RLI Corp. (RLI) : Free Stock Analysis Report Cincinnati Financial Corporation (CINF) : Free Stock Analysis Report CNA Financial Corporation (CNA) : Free Stock Analysis Report Arch Capital Group Ltd. (ACGL) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research 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
