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Everest Re (RE) Q1 Earnings Top Estimates, Premiums Rise
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Everest Re Group, Ltd. delivered first-quarter 2018 operating earnings of $5.34 per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.29 by 0.95%. The bottom line declined 17.6% from the year-ago quarter.
Everest Re Group, Ltd. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
The quarter witnessed increase in premiums and net investment income. Return on equity improved in double digits. Claims and expenses also escalated in the quarter.
Including after-tax net realized capital losses of 47 cents and foreign exchange income of 24 cents, net income came in at $5.11 per share, down 27.7% from the prior-year quarter.
Operational Update
Everest Re Group’s total operating revenues of $1.8 billion increased nearly 23.9% year over year. Moreover, the top line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 6.8%.
Gross written premiums grew 21% year over year to $1.9 billion. The company’s worldwide reinsurance premiums surged 22% while direct insurance premiums improved 16% for the quarter.
Net investment income came in at $138.3 million in the quarter, up 13% year over year.
Total claims and expenses increased 33.2% to $1.5 million, attributable to higher incurred losses and loss adjustment expenses, increase in commission, brokerage, taxes and fees, higher other underwriting expenses as well as corporate expenses.
Combined ratio deteriorated 730 basis points (bps) to 93.3% from 86% in the year-ago quarter. Excluding catastrophe losses, net operating income improved 5%, underwriting income was more than $200 million and combined ratio was 87.1%.
Financial Update
Everest Re Group exited the quarter with total assets of $23.5 billion, decreasing 0.3% from $21.6 billion at the end of 2017. Shareholder equity at the end of the reported quarter dipped 0.3% to $8.3 billion from the level of $8.4 billion at 2017-end.
Total cash balance at the end of the quarter under review increased 10.3% to $700.6 million from end of 2017.
Book value per share came in at $203.62 as of Mar 31, 2018, down 0.6% from the 2017-end level.
Return on equity was 10.5%.
Everest Re Group’s cash flow from operations was $195.6 million, plunging nearly 49% year over year.
The bottom line of Torchmark Corporation , The Progressive Corporation (PGR - Free Report) and RLI Corp. (RLI - Free Report) surpassed their respective Zacks Consensus Estimate in the first quarter of 2018.
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Everest Re (RE) Q1 Earnings Top Estimates, Premiums Rise
Everest Re Group, Ltd. delivered first-quarter 2018 operating earnings of $5.34 per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.29 by 0.95%. The bottom line declined 17.6% from the year-ago quarter.
Everest Re Group, Ltd. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Everest Re Group, Ltd. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Everest Re Group, Ltd. Quote
The quarter witnessed increase in premiums and net investment income. Return on equity improved in double digits. Claims and expenses also escalated in the quarter.
Including after-tax net realized capital losses of 47 cents and foreign exchange income of 24 cents, net income came in at $5.11 per share, down 27.7% from the prior-year quarter.
Operational Update
Everest Re Group’s total operating revenues of $1.8 billion increased nearly 23.9% year over year. Moreover, the top line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 6.8%.
Gross written premiums grew 21% year over year to $1.9 billion. The company’s worldwide reinsurance premiums surged 22% while direct insurance premiums improved 16% for the quarter.
Net investment income came in at $138.3 million in the quarter, up 13% year over year.
Total claims and expenses increased 33.2% to $1.5 million, attributable to higher incurred losses and loss adjustment expenses, increase in commission, brokerage, taxes and fees, higher other underwriting expenses as well as corporate expenses.
Combined ratio deteriorated 730 basis points (bps) to 93.3% from 86% in the year-ago quarter. Excluding catastrophe losses, net operating income improved 5%, underwriting income was more than $200 million and combined ratio was 87.1%.
Financial Update
Everest Re Group exited the quarter with total assets of $23.5 billion, decreasing 0.3% from $21.6 billion at the end of 2017. Shareholder equity at the end of the reported quarter dipped 0.3% to $8.3 billion from the level of $8.4 billion at 2017-end.
Total cash balance at the end of the quarter under review increased 10.3% to $700.6 million from end of 2017.
Book value per share came in at $203.62 as of Mar 31, 2018, down 0.6% from the 2017-end level.
Return on equity was 10.5%.
Everest Re Group’s cash flow from operations was $195.6 million, plunging nearly 49% year over year.
Zacks Rank
Everest Re Group 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 Insurers
The bottom line of Torchmark Corporation , The Progressive Corporation (PGR - Free Report) and RLI Corp. (RLI - Free Report) surpassed their respective Zacks Consensus Estimate in the first quarter of 2018.
More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone!
It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market.
Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2020.
Click here for the 6 trades >>