Factbox: Hurricane season U.S. stocks to watch

Fednat Holding Co

31/05/2018 21:11

NEW YORK, May 31 (Reuters) - Several Atlantic Ocean
hurricanes in 2017 wrought heavy damage in the Caribbean and
U.S. mainland, but for U.S. stocks in several industries,
including hotels and transportation, they were a tailwind.
    The first named storm of the 2018 hurricane season,
Subtropical Storm Alberto, made landfall on Monday. The storm
indirectly led to several deaths in North Carolina and Maryland.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N1T00AQ  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N1T20DF
    In 2017, the hurricane season, which typically runs from
June to November, caused more than $250 billion worth of damage
in the United States. Hurricane Harvey struck the Houston area
in August and Hurricane Irma hit Florida in September.
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    Also in September, Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico,
where thousands of residents still lack electricity.
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    But car rental, hotel and home improvement companies
benefited from an influx of customers seeking emergency
resources in the wake of the storms. Freight companies commanded
higher prices as capacity tightened due to increased demand for
supplies in areas struck by the hurricanes.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N1LU1HZ
    Not all industries fared as well. Several oil companies saw
their operations disrupted by Hurricane Harvey.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N1LI09V
Insurance companies faced mounting catastrophe losses from
hurricanes and other natural disasters.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1MV1ZC
    Here are how shares of companies in these industries
performed during last year's hurricane season.
    
    CAR RENTAL
    Shares of Hertz Global Holdings Inc  HTZ.N  and Avis Budget
Group Inc  CAR.O  surged during much of the 2017 Atlantic
hurricane season on investors' anticipation of increased demand.
Hertz shares climbed 156.2 percent between June and early
November, while Avis shares rose 80.1 percent during the same
time period.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N1LT2D7
    Both companies' shares fell sharply after Nov. 6, when Avis
lowered its full-year earnings forecast in part due to damage
from hurricanes. Still, Avis shares ended the year 93.2 percent
above their June low, and Hertz shares climbed 133 percent in
the same time period.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N1NC1U5
    
    FREIGHT
    Between June 1 and Dec. 1, shares of USA Truck Inc  USAK.O 
soared 172.9 percent, while shares of XPO Logistics Inc  XPO.N 
and Old Dominion Freight Line Inc  ODFL.O  climbed more than 40
percent. J B Hunt Transport Services  JBHT.O  shares rose 26.7
percent over the same period.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N1MA0VA
    
    HOME IMPROVEMENT
    Home Depot Inc  HD.N  shares rose 16.3 percent during the
2017 Atlantic hurricane season. In November, the home
improvement retailer raised its 2017 profit and sales forecasts
in response to increased demand for emergency and rebuilding
supplies.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1NK4H3
    Shares of Lowe's Companies Inc  LOW.N  only rose 4.7 percent
during that period, lagging the S&P 500, as the chain struggled
to compete with Home Depot.
    
    HOTELS
    For several hotel operators, the increased demand from
guests displaced by hurricanes outweighed the damage the storms
wrought on their properties in affected areas.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N1N01VI
    From June 1 to Dec. 1, shares of Hyatt Hotels Corp  H.N 
jumped 25.8 percent. Shares of Marriott International Inc
 MAR.O , Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc  HLT.N  and Choice Hotels
International Inc  CHH.N  rose between 15.9 percent and 18.9
percent.
    Shares of La Quinta Holdings Inc, which is now owned by
Wyndham Worldwide Corp  WYN.N , climbed 24.5 percent during the
same time period. Prior to its acquisition by Wyndham, La Quinta
spun off CorePoint Lodging Inc  CPLG.N , which took ownership of
more than 300 of its hotels. CorePoint shares began regular
trading on Thursday.
    
    OIL
    During the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, shares of Kinder
Morgan Inc  KMI.N , which shut down several of its pipelines and
gas facilities as Hurricane Harvey approached, fell 8.3 percent.
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    Shares of oilfield services companies also slumped. Shares
of Baker Hughes  BHGE.N , owned by General Electric Co  GE.N ,
dropped 20.6 percent between June 1 and Dec. 1. Halliburton Co
 HAL.N  shares fell 5.3 percent, and Schlumberger NV  SLB.N 
shares declined 7.2 percent.

    INSURANCE
    Florida home insurers' shares slumped on Sept. 7 as
investors anticipated heavy losses from Hurricane Irma. Heritage
Insurance Holdings Inc  HRTG.N , HCI Group Inc  HCI.N ,
Universal Insurance Holdings Inc  UVE.N , United Insurance
Holdings Corp  UIHC.O  and Federated National Holding Co
 FNHC.O  all tumbled between 5.4 and 15.7 percent that day.
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 (Reporting by April Joyner; Editing by Richard Chang and Lisa
Shumaker)
 ((April.Joyner@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646 223 7480; Reuters
Messaging: april.joyner.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))