Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) is slated to report second-quarter 2017 results on Aug 1, after the market closes. Last quarter, the company delivered a positive earnings surprise of 23.84%. Let’s see how things are shaping up for this announcement.
Factors to be Considered this Quarter
Assurant is likely to report bottom-line growth in the soon-to-be-reported quarter, primarily driven by one-time client recoverables and an improved extended service contract profitability in Global Lifestyle. The Multi line insurer also anticipates its total operating earnings (excluding catastrophe losses) to be somewhat in level with that of 2016, with operating earnings per share estimated to increase in double digits.
The company has likely experienced higher fee income and earnings at Preneed in the second quarter and further estimates growth in the same from this segment, fueled by increased production across North America as well as operational efficiencies.
Assurant has probably witnessed some solid results at the Global Lifestyle segment, owing to higher contributions from service contracts in vehicle protection and Connected Living. Also, an improved performance in mobile business has possibly augured well for the company to achieve good results in second quarter.
Additionally, Assurant’s fee-based capital-light businesses are expected to display growth in the to-be-reported quarter, which will be a key driver of return on equity (ROE) expansion by 2020.
However, the Multi line insurer has likely witnessed weaker results at Mortgage solutions, due to lower than expected demand.
Also, the company might have experienced lower premiums earned in the quarter, which is again anticipated to have weighed on revenue improvement.
Furthermore, Assurant’s Global Housing segment has likely displayed lower net earned premiums and earnings in the second quarter. The company anticipates continued declines in this segment for the full-year 2017.
With respect to the surprise trend, Assurant delivered positive surprises in three of the last four quarters with an average beat of 6.82%.
Earnings Whispers
Our proven model does not conclusively show that Assurant is likely to beat estimates this quarter. This is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) for this to happen. That is not the case here, as you will see below.
Zacks ESP: Assurant has an Earnings ESP of +1.90%. This is because the Most Accurate estimate is pegged at $1.61, higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.58. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they are reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Zacks Rank: Assurant carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), which lowers the predictive power of ESP. So, we caution against all Sell-rated stocks (#4 or 5) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions.
Stocks to Consider
Some better-ranked companies from the insurance industry with the right combination of elements to come up with an earnings beat this quarter are as follows:
The Navigators Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NAVG) , which is set to report second-quarter earnings on Aug 3, has an Earnings ESP of +5.17% and a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
National General Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:NGHC) has an Earnings ESP of +2.56% and a Zacks Rank #1. The company is set to report second-quarter earnings on Aug 7.
Sun Life Financial Inc. (TO:SLF) has an Earnings ESP of +2.70% and a Zacks Rank #1. The company is slated to report second-quarter earnings on Aug 1.
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Sun Life Financial Inc. (SLF): Free Stock Analysis Report
Assurant, Inc. (AIZ): Free Stock Analysis Report
The Navigators Group, Inc. (NAVG): Free Stock Analysis Report
National General Holdings Corp (NGHC): Free Stock Analysis Report
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