It’s not as exciting a sector as the currently hyped-up tech sector, but for those investors looking at basic value as outlined in the works of Benjamin Graham, these insurance stocks may be worth considering. Each one is now “on sale” at a below-book-value price and each one pays dividends.
Some of the low valuation may be attributable to the likely continuation of interest rates hikes by the Fed. Like all sectors of the finance industry, the expectation of higher yields has an effect on rate-sensitive insurance companies. Other factors play into the equation for each, of course, but that’s a central kind of issue right now.
5 Insurance Companies, Dividend Paying, Below Book Value
American International Group
AIG
With a market capitalization of $41.22 billion, this is one of the big insurance companies. Right now, the stock can be purchased at a 3% discount to its book value. The price-earnings ratio sits at 7.36 at a time when the Shiller p/e for the Standard & Poor’s 500 comes in at 30.69. American International Group pays investors a dividend of 2.55%. Note that the stock trades back above its 50-week moving average.
Donegal Group
The stock is very lightly traded on the NASDAQ
NDAQ
with a market capitalization of $462 million and a negative price-earnings ratio because of no earnings over the last reported 12 months. Analysts put the forward p/e at 10. It’s available for 95% of its book value. Donegal Group pays a 4.76% dividend. The 200-week moving average is trending upward.
ProAssurance
PRA
Corporation
The stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange at a 29% to its book value. Lack of earnings this year makes for no price-earnings ratio. The forward p/e is said to be 16.67. Market capitalization is $814 million. ProAssurance Corporation is paying a dividend of 1.33%. The price is bouncing off of the 2020 lows on this weekly chart.
Enact Holdings
Another lightly traded NASDAQ stock, the market capitalization is $4.00 billion. Now trading at a 7% discount to its book value, the stock’s price-earnings ratio is a mere 5.62. Shareholder equity greatly exceeds the amount of long-term debt. Enact Holdings pays a 2.60% dividend. It trades above an up trending 50-week moving average.
United Fire Group
Yet another of the very lightly traded NASDAQ property and casualty insurers, this one can be purchased at 75% of book value. That there are no earnings this year so that leaves it without a price-earnings ratio, but analysts put the forward p/e at 12. United Fire pays a 2.89% dividend. So far, the stock has managed to remain above its late 2020 low prices.
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