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Will Willis Towers (WTW) Retain Its Beat Streak in Q4 Earnings?

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Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (WTW - Free Report) is set to report fourth-quarter 2021 earnings on Feb 8, before market open. The company delivered an earnings surprise in each of the last four quarters, the average being 15.27%.

Factors to Note

Willis Towers’ fourth-quarter revenues are likely to have witnessed the impact of increased demand for advisory services, new business activity, strong renewals, technology sales, growth in Medicare Advantage and Life sales.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $2.8 billion, indicating growth of 1.7% from the year-ago quarter.

Revenues at Human Capital and Benefits (HCB) segment are likely to have benefited from continued increased demand for advisory services, strong market demand for broad-based rewards advisory work, along with talent and compensation products. Advisory work in North America, global benefit management and local brokerage appointments, increased project work as well as new business activity in Great Britain are also likely to have boosted the segment’s performance.

Revenues at the Corporate Risk and Broking (CRB) segment are likely to have benefited from new business across M&A, FINEX, Construction and Aerospace alongside gains recorded in connection with book-of-business settlements, new business generation and strong renewals across several insurance lines, most notably, in FINEX and Retail.

Higher advisory-related fees, increased contingent performance fees, increased demand for advisory work alongside technology sales, performance-based new business and growth in delegated assets under management are likely to have resulted in reinsurance growth for Investment, Risk and Reinsurance (IRR) segment in the fourth quarter.

Growth in Individual Marketplace, primarily by TRANZACT, strong growth in Medicare Advantage and Life sales and expanded client base might have driven organic revenues in the Benefits Delivery and Administration (BDA) segment. WTW expects the positive momentum of the BDA business to continue in the fourth quarter.

Willis Towers expects to deliver margin improvement in the fourth quarter.
Expenses in the quarter to be reported are likely to have decreased due to lower depreciation, amortization, decreases in travel and entertainment costs, local office expenses, bad debt expense and non-income tax costs, a lower depreciable base of assets due to business disposals and reduced capital expenditures.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings per share is pegged at $5.38, suggesting an increase of 2.9% from the year-ago reported figure.

What the Zacks Model Unveils

Our proven model predicts an earnings beat for Willis Towers this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat.

Earnings ESP: Willis Towers has an Earnings ESP of +6.29%. This is because the Most Accurate Estimate is pegged at $5.72, higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.38. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company Price and EPS Surprise

Zacks Rank: Willis Towers carries a Zacks Rank of 3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Other Stocks to Consider

Some stocks worth considering from the insurance space with the perfect mix of elements to surpass estimates in their upcoming quarterly releases are as follows:

Arch Capital Group (ACGL - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +1.48% and a Zacks Rank #2. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Arch Capital’s 2022 earnings has moved 1.1% north in the past 30 days. ACGL’s expected long-term earnings growth rate is pegged at 10%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Arch Capital’s 2022 earnings implies a year-over-year increase of 31.5%. ACGL’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the last four quarters, the average beat being 32.7%.

American International Group (AIG - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +4.88% and a Zacks Rank #3. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for American International’s 2022 earnings has moved 0.2% north in the past 30 days. AIG’s expected long-term earnings growth rate is pegged at 10%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for American International’s 2022 earnings implies a year-over-year increase of 15.6%. AIG’s earnings surpassed estimates in three of the last four quarters and missed in one, the average beat being 8.5%.

American Equity Investment Life Holding (AEL - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +2.86% and a Zacks Rank #3. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for American Equity’s 2022 earnings implies a year-over-year increase of 48.6%.

AEL’s earnings surpassed estimates in two of the last four quarters and missed in the other two, the average beat being 31.4%.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.

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