Citi says fundamental outlook for U.S. life insurers improving

WhiteHorse Finance

15/08/2022 18:32

** Coming out of Q2 earnings reports, Citi is positive on
U.S. life insurance sector with MetLife Inc  MET.N  and Hartford
Financial Services  HIG.N  as its top picks 
    ** Brokerage maintains its 'buy' rating on both stocks;
raises PT on MET to $76 from $73; HIG to $84 from $79 
    ** Adds quarter saw generally saw solid results, benefiting
from a slowdown in pandemic claims as well as top-line strength 
    ** For property and casualty insurers brokerage expects
near-term pressures from the auto sector and squeezed
alternative investment returns 
    ** Still, it adds investment returns in the quarter while
below typical levels were generally not as bad as feared   
    ** Shares of MET up ~8.1% YTD, while HIG down by a marginal
~0.4% over the same period 
    ** S&P 500 Insurance Index  .SPXIN  has gained ~4% YTD
outperforming the benchmark S&P 500 Index  .SPX 
    
 Company              Rating      New PT      Old PT 
 Travelers Companies  Neutral     $178        $172
  TRV.N                                       
 Principal Financial  Sell        $62         $58
 Group  PFG.O                                 
 Aflac Inc  AFL.N     Neutral     $62         $59
 Chubb Ltd  CB.N      Neutral     $214        $207
 

 (Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru)
 ((Manya.Saini@thomsonreuters.com;))