Factbox: Stocks to watch as Hurricane Idalia makes landfall in Florida

Universal Insurance Holdings

30/08/2023 17:55

(Updates prices throughout, adds background on flight
cancellations in paragraphs 11-13)
       NEW YORK, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Millions of Florida
residents evacuated to higher ground after Hurricane Idalia, an
"extremely dangerous" Category 3 storm, made landfall on
Wednesday at the state's Gulf Coast.
    Idalia was forecast to unleash destructive winds and
torrential downpours that will cause coastal flooding up to 16
feet (5 m) deep. 
    Most of Florida's 21 million residents, and many in the
adjacent states of Georgia and South Carolina, were under
hurricane warnings and other storm-related advisories.
    Here is a list of stocks and sectors that could be impacted
by the storm:
    
    POWER
    Idalia has so far caused more than 140,000 homes and
businesses to lose power in Florida. An early news briefing by
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was interrupted for a few seconds
by a power cut. 
    Shares of NextEra Energy  NEE.N , which owns the Florida
Power & Light Company, the state's largest utility, fell 0.52
$67.15.
    Duke Energy  DUK.N  said on Tuesday it mobilized over 5,000
responders as it prepared for power outages. Duke's stock was
down 0.27% at $90.05 early Wednesday.
    Generac Holdings  GNRC.N , which tends to rise ahead of
major storms as investors bet on increased demand for the
company's home standby generators, was off 2.04% at $118.7. Its
stock had risen in the five prior sessions. 
    
    ENERGY
    Oil producer Chevron  CVX.N  said on Tuesday it evacuated
staff from three U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil production platforms
while Kinder Morgan  KMI.N  planned to shut a petroleum
pipeline, as the energy companies braced for Idalia.
    Chevron shares edged up 0.21% to $160.3, while Kinder Morgan
was little changed at $17.46.
        
  
        AIRLINES
  
    U.S. airlines canceled more than 850 flights as airports in
Tampa, Clearwater and Tallahassee shut down operations and were
monitoring the status of the storm.
    Southwest Airlines  LUV.N  canceled more than 200 flights,
while Delta Air Lines  DAL.N  and American Airlines  AAL.O 
canceled 148 and 98 flights, respectively, according to
flight-tracking website Flightaware.com.
    The S&P 500 passenger airline index  .SPLRCAIR  was down
0.28%, with Delta Airlines and Southwest Airlines shedding about
0.5% each. American Airlines and Alaska Air Group  ALK.N  lost
0.17% each.
    
    INSURERS
    Home and property insurance firms are likely to see claims
rise as Idalia sweeps through the state, and the region.
    Shares of insurers in the crosshairs are Universal Insurance
Holdings  UVE.N , up 4.6%. Allstate Corporation  ALL.N  rose
1.6% and American International Group  AIG.N  added 0.29%.
    
    RETAILERS / BUILDING MATERIALS SUPPLIERS
    As homeowners look to repair and rebuild in Idalia's
aftermath, home improvement retailers and construction supplies
firms may see an uptick in demand.
    Home Depot  HD.N  was up 1.06%, while Lowe's Companies
 LOW.N  was up 1.48%.
    Owens Corning's  OC.N  shares rose 0.82% and Beacon Roofing
Supply's  BECN.O  stock gained 0.4% on the session.

 (Reporting by Chibuike Oguh in New York; editing by Lance
Tupper and Marguerita Choy)
 ((Chibuike.Oguh@thomsonreuters.com; +332-219-1834; Reuters
Messaging: chibuike.oguh.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))