Performance Review
From our October 2016 Insurance Watch List, we have the following performance of the entire watch list.
| symbol | name | % chg |
| CNO | CNO Financial Group, Inc. | 56.67% |
| THG | The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. | 24.84% |
| HALL | Hallmark Financial Services Inc. | 12.98% |
| ORI | Old Republic International Corp. | 6.44% |
The average change for the list was +25.23% as compared to the iShares Dow Jones Insurance Index ETF (IAK) gain of +22.51%. Below is the performance of the same stocks relative to the analyst estimates:
How’s this for a stunner? Take a look at the performance Old Republic Title (ORI). What in the world is that all about? The analysts called for a +6.44% gain and that is exactly the amount the stock has increased one year later. Let’s dare them to do it two years in a row.
The stock that we highlighted was Hallmark Financial Services (HALL). We pointed out the downside target however only one ($9.68) was achieved. The underperformance of HALL was expected and therefore continues to put the stock in the position of being undervalued at the current price.
In our section titled “Sell the Principal” we highlighted the stocks that we thought investors should consider selling the principal. Below is the performance of those stocks.
| symbol | name | % chg |
| GNW | Genworth Financial, Inc. | -32.67% |
| STC | Stewart Information Services | -17.39% |
| KFS | Kingsway Financial Services Inc. | -2.65% |
| NATL | National Interstate Corporation | 0.25% |
| ENH | Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd. | 1.19% |
| CRD-B | Crawford & Company | 1.97% |
| HTH | Hilltop Holdings Inc. | 9.72% |
| PFG | Principal Financial Group Inc. | 30.14% |
| SYCRF | Syncora Holdings Ltd. | 36.30% |
| UNM | Unum Group | 44.21% |
| LNC | Lincoln National Corporation | 58.14% |
Four stocks exceeded the average return of the iShares Dow Jones Insurance Index ETF (IAK). The average change of the entire list increased by +11.74% as compared to the iShares Dow Jones Insurance Index ETF (IAK) gain of +22.51%.
October 2017 Insurance Watch List
Below is the latest list of stocks that we’re watching and the analyst estimates for the stocks: