On Nov 27, 2015, shares of Atlas Financial Holdings, Inc. AFH hit a 52-week high of $20.67, driven by better-than-expected third-quarter 2015 results. With about 0.04 million shares exchanged in the last trading session, the stock finally closed the session at $20.60, gaining 1.18%. Year to date, the stock has gained 26.23%, comparing favorably with 8.26% returned by Nasdaq.
Atlas Financial’s operating earnings of 46 cents per share in the third quarter surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate and improved year over year. The outperformance came on the back of solid underwriting results and improved investment results.
With respect to surprise trends, the Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) property and casualty insurer delivered positive surprises in each of the last four quarters. The average four-quarter beat came at 28.7%.
Improved investment income coupled with higher premiums drove the top line in the quarter. On the strength of higher premiums written through the first three quarters, the company remains on track to achieve premiums between $200 million and $240 million for full-year 2015.
Better performing other investments helped investment income and yields to rise in the quarter.
Atlas Financial’s underwriting income surged 74% year over year while combined ratio improved 80 basis points (bps) driven by a 220 bps improvement in loss ratio. Improved pricing in the core line of business resulted in a lower loss ratio in the quarter.
Riding on operational strength, the company’s cash and invested assets grew 30% over the 2014-end level. Along with organic growth, the successful addition of Global Liberty and a credit facility continued to support growth.
Notably, shares of Atlas Financial have been on an uptrend since the company reported solid third-quarter results on Nov 10. Shares have gained about 10% over the last two weeks.
Other Stocks to Consider
Some better-ranked property and casualty insurers worth considering are Hallmark Financial Services Inc. HALL, Cincinnati Financial Corp. CINF and RLI Corp. RLI. Each of these stocks sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
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