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Hallmark Financial (HALL) Q2 Earnings Miss, Revenues Beat

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Hallmark Financial Services, Inc. (HALL - Free Report) incurred an operating loss of $2.23 per share in the second quarter of 2022, wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 22 cents per share and the year-ago loss of 19 cents per share.

The quarter witnessed lower premiums in Specialty Commercial and Personal segments though expenses declined.

Hallmark Financial Services, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

 

Quarterly Operational Update

Total revenues declined 6.5% year over year to $84.5 million in the quarter under review. The top line, however, beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.1%.

Gross premiums written increased 7.3% year over year to $182.1 million.

Net premiums written dropped 4% year over year to $84.3 million, attributable to lower premiums in Specialty Commercial and Personal segments.

Net investment income was $3.1 million, up 29.4% year over year, primarily due to the reinvestment of cash into higher-yielding securities.

The net combined ratio deteriorated 6280 basis points (bps) to 169.2.

The expense ratio of 29.5 deteriorated 230 bps year over year.

Total expenses decreased 31.3% year over year to $89.8 million due to higher loss and loss adjustment expenses and interest expenses.

Net catastrophe losses were $2 million in the quarter, narrower than $3.7 million loss incurred in the year-ago quarter.

Segmental Update

Specialty Commercial: Net premiums written declined 5.2% year over year to $51.5 million. The combined ratio deteriorated 10130 bps to 199.

Standard Commercial: Net premiums written increased about 2% year over year to $17.7 million. The combined ratio improved 970 bps to 107.4.

Personal: Net premiums decreased 4.3% year over year to $15 million. The combined ratio improved 160 bps to 120.5.

Corporate: Total revenues were ($2.5) million versus $2.9 million in the year-ago quarter. The pretax loss was $8 million, wider than $1.1 million incurred in the year-ago quarter.

Financial Position

As of second-quarter 2022 end, cash and cash equivalents were $117.2 million, down 67.1% from 2021 end.

Shareholder equity decreased 45.1% from 2021 end to $96.4 million at second-quarter 2022 end.

Book value per share decreased 45% year over year to $5.30 at second-quarter 2022 end.

Zacks Rank

Hallmark Financial currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Performance of Other Property & Casualty Insurers

Of the insurance industry players that have reported second-quarter results so far, The Travelers Companies (TRV - Free Report) and RLI Corporation (RLI - Free Report) beat the respective Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings, while The Progressive Corporation (PGR - Free Report) met the mark.

Travelers’ core income of $2.57 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 28.5% but decreased 26% year over year. Total revenues increased 7% year over year, primarily due to higher premiums, and beat the consensus estimate by 1.8%. Net written premiums increased 11%, driven by strong retention rates and positive renewal premium changes across all the segments. Underwriting gain of $113 million decreased 65% year over year in the reported quarter.  

Travelers’ combined ratio deteriorated 300 bps year over year to 98.3 due to higher catastrophe losses and a higher underlying combined ratio.

RLI’s operating earnings of $1.49 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 6.1% and improved 36.7% from the prior-year quarter. Operating revenues were $301.3 million, up 16.9% year over year, driven by 17.3% higher net premiums earned and 10.5% higher net investment income. The top line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $276 million by 0.9%.

RLI’s underwriting income of $56 million increased 53%, primarily due to the strong performance of the Property and Surety segments. The combined ratio improved 460 bps year over year to 80.2.

Progressive’s earnings per share of 95 cents came in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The bottom line declined 37.1% year over year. Progressive’s net premiums written were $12.4 billion in the quarter, up 8% from $11.7 billion a year ago.

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