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Why is it Apt to Hold Reinsurance Group (RGA) Stock Now

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Shares of Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated (RGA - Free Report) gained 1.11%, outperforming the Zacks categorized Life Insurance industry’s gain of 0.81%, quarter to date. The estimates have also been revised upward for the last 30 days. The company's return on equity is 8.4%, which is higher than the industry’s 7.1%.



Reinsurance Group has made a name for itself in the life insurance industry by successfully meeting the ever changing demands and expectations of its clients, thus building a solid product and service portfolio over the years.

Reinsurance Group boasts an industry-leading position in the U.S. and Latin American traditional market. A continued product line expansion through market-leading services, capabilities, expertise and innovation will continue to help the company maintain this strong position in future. Besides, the product line expansion would facilitate risk diversification going forward.

This Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) life insurer is likely to keep benefiting from a mix of organic and transactional opportunities to boost the company’s overall results in turn and amp up its growth.

This apart, Reinsurance Group has carved a niche in the Canadian market, enjoying solid growth and profitability. The company anticipates longevity insurance – a source of diversified income – to experience a steady graph of growth and demand in the Canadian market.  

Interestingly, Reinsurance Group has been displaying effective capital management through share buybacks and dividend payments. On an average, the company expects to deploy $300–$400 million of excess capital, annually.

However, escalating expenses weighing on margin expansion remains a headwind.

Nonetheless, valuation is attractive at present as the stock is currently trading at a price to book multiple of 1.11, a whopping 50.7% discount to the industry average of 2.25.

Also, Reinsurance Group has a VGM Score of B. Here V stands for Value, G for Growth and M for Momentum and the score is a weighted combination of these three scores. Also, the company’s long-term expected earnings growth is tipped at 9.00%.
 
Stocks to Consider

Some better-ranked stocks from the insurance industry are Assurant, Inc. (AIZ - Free Report) , Cigna Corporation (CI - Free Report) and FBL Financial Group, Inc. . Each stock carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Assurant offers risk management solutions for housing and lifestyle markets worldwide. The company has delivered positive surprises in three of the last four quarters with an average beat of 6.82%.

Cigna provides insurance plus related products and services in the United States and internationally. The company has delivered positive surprises in three of the last four quarters with an average beat of 1.35%.

FBL Financial sells individual life insurance and annuity products. The company has delivered positive surprises in two of the last four quarters with an average beat of 1.98%.

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