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American Financial (AFG) Q3 Earnings Top Estimates, Rise Y/Y
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American Financial Group, Inc. (AFG - Free Report) reported third-quarter 2019 net operating earnings per share of $2.25, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 15.3%. Also, the bottom line increased 2.7% year over year.
Higher net premiums written in Specialty Property and Casualty insurance operations were partially offset by lower premiums in Annuity Segment.
American Financial Group, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Total operating revenues of $2.1 billion rose 9.4% year over year. This top-line improvement can be attributed to higher net investment income and increase in net earned premiums at its Property & Casualty insurance.
Net investment income of $588 million increased 11.6% year over year.
American Financial’s total cost and expenses were $1.9 billion, up 10.3% year over year. This was due to higher P&C insurance loss and expenses, annuity, life, accident and health benefits, interest charges on borrowed money and expenses plus expenses of managed investment entities as well as other expenses.
Segment Results
Specialty Property and Casualty Insurance generated $1.6 billion in net premiums written, up 11% year over year, driven by increase of 17%, 8% and 6%, respectively, in the Property & Transportation, Specialty Casualty in Specialty Financial.
Core operating earnings were $194 million in the third quarter, up 22.8% year over year, driven by higher P&C underwriting profit and higher P&C net investment income as a result of higher earnings on limited partnerships and similar investments.
Underwriting profit of $88 million increased 60%, as higher year-over-year underwriting profits in the Property and Transportation and Specialty Financial Groups were partially offset by lower underwriting profit in the Specialty Casualty Group.
The segment’s combined ratio improved 170 basis points (bps) year over year to 94%.
Annuity segment’s premiums of $1.1 billion declined 22% year over year, as higher traditional fixed annuity premiums in the financial institutions channel were offset by lower FIA premiums in the retail and broker dealer channels, Pension Risk Transfer, Education Market and Variable Annuities.
Pre-tax income of $100 million remained unchanged year over year.
Financial Update
As of Sep 30, 2019, American Financial had cash and investments of $54.2 billion, which grew 11.8% from 2018-end level.
As of Sep 30, 2019, long-term debt of $1.4 billion was up 9.3% from 2018-end level.
As of Sep 30, 2019, the company’s book value per share (excluding unrealized gains/losses on fixed maturities) was $59.65, up 8.7% from the figure at 2018 end.
Annualized return on equity was 15.3%, down 50 bps year over year.
2019 Guidance
American Financial expects full-year 2019 pretax Annuity core operating earnings to be in the range of $380 million to $400 million. This compares favorably with the previous guidance of $375 million to $405 million.
American Financial expects core net operating earnings for 2019 to be in the range of $8.50 to $8.70 per share compared with $8.40-$8.80 announced previously.
Specialty Casualty net written premiums are expected to grow in the range of 4% to 7%, up from previous guidance of 2-5%. It reported $5.0 billion in 2018.
Combined ratio for 2019 is expected in the range of 93% to 94% compared with the previous projection of 92-94%.
Of the insurance industry players that have reported third-quarter results so far, Global Life (GL - Free Report) , Arthur J. Gallagher (AJG - Free Report) and CNA Financial Corporation (CNA - Free Report) beat the respective Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings.
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American Financial (AFG) Q3 Earnings Top Estimates, Rise Y/Y
American Financial Group, Inc. (AFG - Free Report) reported third-quarter 2019 net operating earnings per share of $2.25, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 15.3%. Also, the bottom line increased 2.7% year over year.
Higher net premiums written in Specialty Property and Casualty insurance operations were partially offset by lower premiums in Annuity Segment.
American Financial Group, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
American Financial Group, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | American Financial Group, Inc. Quote
Behind the Headlines
Total operating revenues of $2.1 billion rose 9.4% year over year. This top-line improvement can be attributed to higher net investment income and increase in net earned premiums at its Property & Casualty insurance.
Net investment income of $588 million increased 11.6% year over year.
American Financial’s total cost and expenses were $1.9 billion, up 10.3% year over year. This was due to higher P&C insurance loss and expenses, annuity, life, accident and health benefits, interest charges on borrowed money and expenses plus expenses of managed investment entities as well as other expenses.
Segment Results
Specialty Property and Casualty Insurance generated $1.6 billion in net premiums written, up 11% year over year, driven by increase of 17%, 8% and 6%, respectively, in the Property & Transportation, Specialty Casualty in Specialty Financial.
Core operating earnings were $194 million in the third quarter, up 22.8% year over year, driven by higher P&C underwriting profit and higher P&C net investment income as a result of higher earnings on limited partnerships and similar investments.
Underwriting profit of $88 million increased 60%, as higher year-over-year underwriting profits in the Property and Transportation and Specialty Financial Groups were partially offset by lower underwriting profit in the Specialty Casualty Group.
The segment’s combined ratio improved 170 basis points (bps) year over year to 94%.
Annuity segment’s premiums of $1.1 billion declined 22% year over year, as higher traditional fixed annuity premiums in the financial institutions channel were offset by lower FIA premiums in the retail and broker dealer channels, Pension Risk Transfer, Education Market and Variable Annuities.
Pre-tax income of $100 million remained unchanged year over year.
Financial Update
As of Sep 30, 2019, American Financial had cash and investments of $54.2 billion, which grew 11.8% from 2018-end level.
As of Sep 30, 2019, long-term debt of $1.4 billion was up 9.3% from 2018-end level.
As of Sep 30, 2019, the company’s book value per share (excluding unrealized gains/losses on fixed maturities) was $59.65, up 8.7% from the figure at 2018 end.
Annualized return on equity was 15.3%, down 50 bps year over year.
2019 Guidance
American Financial expects full-year 2019 pretax Annuity core operating earnings to be in the range of $380 million to $400 million. This compares favorably with the previous guidance of $375 million to $405 million.
American Financial expects core net operating earnings for 2019 to be in the range of $8.50 to $8.70 per share compared with $8.40-$8.80 announced previously.
Specialty Casualty net written premiums are expected to grow in the range of 4% to 7%, up from previous guidance of 2-5%. It reported $5.0 billion in 2018.
Combined ratio for 2019 is expected in the range of 93% to 94% compared with the previous projection of 92-94%.
Zacks Rank
American Financial currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Other Insurance Releases
Of the insurance industry players that have reported third-quarter results so far, Global Life (GL - Free Report) , Arthur J. Gallagher (AJG - Free Report) and CNA Financial Corporation (CNA - Free Report) beat the respective Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings.
Today's Best Stocks from Zacks
Would you like to see the updated picks from our best market-beating strategies? From 2017 through 2018, while the S&P 500 gained +15.8%, five of our screens returned +38.0%, +61.3%, +61.6%, +68.1%, and +98.3%.
This outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. From 2000 – 2018, while the S&P averaged +4.8% per year, our top strategies averaged up to +56.2% per year.
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