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Time to Buy These Red-Hot Property and Casualty Insurance Stocks

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Insurance companies have benefitted immensely from higher interest rates over the last few years making their stocks pop as well. While there is still an abundance of opportunity among many insurance stocks, The Progressive Corporation (PGR - Free Report)  and Palomar Holdings (PLMR - Free Report)  are two that stand out.

With Progressive and Palomar’s stock soaring over +30% this year, here is a look at why now is still a good time to buy.

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Rising Earnings Estimates

Notably, Progressive and Palomar belong to the top-rated Zacks Insurance-Property and Casualty Industry which is currently in the upper 9% of over 250 Zacks industries. Correlating with such, their stocks are enjoying positive earnings estimate revisions.

Of course, Progressive is benefiting as one of the major domestic auto insurers and has expanded into homeowner’s insurance among other offerings. Over the last 60 days, EPS estimates for Progressive’s fiscal 2024 and FY25 have soared 15% and 9% respectively.

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As for Palomar, the company provides catastrophe insurance for personal and commercial property and has seen its FY24 earnings estimates rise 7% in the last two months with FY25 EPS projections spiking 11%.

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Intriguing Growth Trajectories

Progressive’s annual earnings are now forecasted to climb 62% in FY24 to $9.90 per share versus $6.11 a share last year. Plus, FY25 EPS is projected to jump another 12%. On the top line, total sales are expected to expand 15% this year and climb another 12% in FY25 to $80.05 billion.

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Furthermore, Palomar’s annual earnings are anticipated to rise 16% in FY24 and are projected to soar another 18% in FY25 to $5.06 per share. More impressive, Palomar’s total sales are forecasted to climb 24% in FY24 and are expected to skyrocket another 23% next year to $572.04 million.

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Reasonable Valuations

Reassuringly, despite their blazing YTD rallies, Progressive and Palomar still trade at reasonable valuations. To that point, Progressive’s stock trades at 21.3X forward earnings while Palomar shares trade at 19.2X with their rising EPS estimates offering further support.

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Takeaway

The strong price performance of The Progressive Corporation and Palomar Holdings stock could continue considering the positive trend of earnings estimate revisions. With that being said, both stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). 


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