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Cincinnati Financial (CINF) Q2 Earnings Beat, Revenues Up

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Cincinnati Financial Corp. (CINF - Free Report) reported second-quarter 2016 operating income of 57 cents per share, which comfortably surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 52 cents by 9.6%. However, the bottom line deteriorated 31.3% year over year, mainly due to weak underwriting results and higher expenses.

Cincinnati Financial Corporation (CINF - Free Report) Street EPS & Surprise Percent - Last 5 Quarters | FindTheCompany

Including lower net realized investment gains of 17 cents per share, the company reported net income of 74 cents per share, down 30.2% year over year.

Operational Update

Total operating revenue in the reported quarter was $1.37 billion, up 4.2% year over year. The top-line growth was driven by 5.6% higher premiums earned and 6.4% rise in investment income.

Total benefits and expenses of Cincinnati Financial increased 12.8% year over year to $1.2 billion, primarily due to higher insurance losses and contract holders’ benefits as well as underwriting, acquisition and insurance expenses.

Combined ratio – a measure of underwriting profitability – deteriorated 690 basis points (bps) year over year to 99.3%.

Cincinnati Financial had 1,576 agency relationships as of Jun 30, 2016 compared with 1,526 as of Dec 31, 2015.

Quarterly Segment Update

Commercial Lines Insurance: Total revenue of $772 million grew 3.5% year over year. The upside was driven by an increase in premiums earned. However, underwriting profit plunged 73.2% year over year to $26 million. Combined ratio also deteriorated 960 bps year over year to 96.8%.

Personal Lines Insurance: Total revenue of $289 million jumped 6.3% year over year owing to an increase in premiums earned. The segment posted an underwriting loss of $20 million, narrower than the year-ago loss of $25 million. As a result, combined ratio improved 170 bps year over year to 107.5%.

Excess and Surplus Lines Insurance: Total revenue of $45 million rose 4.7% year over year due to an increase in premiums earned. The segment’s underwriting profit plummeted 54.5% year over year to $5 million. Combined ratio deteriorated 1140 bps year over year to 87.4%.

Life Insurance: Total revenue grew 10% year over year to $99 million due to year-over-year increase of 13.5% in earned premiums. Total benefits and expenses rose 9.5% year over year to $81 million.

Financial Update

As of Jun 30, 2016, Cincinnati Financial had assets worth $20.2 billion, up 6.7% from the 2015-end level.

Cincinnati Financial’s debt-to-capital ratio was 10.5% as of Jun 30, 2016. This reflects an improvement from 11.3% at the end of 2015.

As of Jun 30, 2016, Cincinnati Financial’s book value per share was $42.37, up 8.1% from Dec 31, 2015.

CINCINNATI FINL Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

CINCINNATI FINL Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | CINCINNATI FINL Quote

Zacks Rank and Performance of Other P&C Insurers

Cincinnati Financial currently holds a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Among other property and casualty insurers that have reported their second-quarter earnings so far, the bottom line at RLI Corp. (RLI - Free Report) and Progressive Corp. (PGR - Free Report) missed their respective Zacks Consensus Estimates, while First American Financial Corporation (FAF - Free Report) beat the same.

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