9 Insurance Stocks to Sell Now

by Louis Navellier | November 4, 2011 12:59 am

[1]Insurance stocks are tricky businesses. For a good insurance stock, you have to find a company without exposure to the worst weather patterns such as hurricanes and snowstorms, and you have to know just how well a company reinvests the premiums from policyholders as a way to grow its funds base instead of just sitting on the cash and waiting to pay for claims. Unfortunately, with a bleak winter outlook and the prospect of a tumultuous market, it’s nearly impossible to depend on most insurers to avoid pricey claims or to grow their capital base through wise investing.

I watch more than 5,000 publicly traded companies with my Portfolio Grader[2] tool, ranking companies by a number of fundamental and quantitative measures. This week I’ve got 9 insurance stocks to sell.

Here they are, in alphabetical order. Each one of these stocks gets a “D” or “F” according to my research, meaning it is a “sell” or “strong sell.”

Allstate Corp. (NYSE:ALL[3]) is involved with personal property insurance, casualty insurance, life insurance, retirement and investment products. Like other insurance stocks, ALL stock has slipped 18% in the past 11 months.

American International Group Inc. (NYSE:AIG[4]) is an insurance company that serves customers in more than 130 countries. Despite owning a global operation, AIG stock is down 58% since the start of 2011.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO[5]) is based in Bermuda and provides credit protection products to the United States and other finance markets. AGO stock has slipped nearly 30% year-to-date, similar to many other big insurance companies.

China Life Insurance (NYSE:LFC[6]) is involved with individual life insurance, group life insurance, casualty insurance, financing insurance, children’s insurance, endowment insurance and protection insurance, among others. LFC stock has dropped 31% year-to-date, compared to a gain of 2% for the Dow Jones.

Genworth Financial Inc. (NYSE:GNW[7]) provides insurance, wealth management, investment and financial solutions to more than 15 million customers all over the world. A staggering decline of 53% year-to-date ensures GNW a spot on this list.

Old Republic International Corp. (NYSE:ORI[8]) is involved with insurance underwriting. ORI stock has dropped 37% since the start of 2011, while the Dow Jones has posted a gain of 2% in the same time period despite its volatility.

PartnerRe (NYSE:PRE[9]) is an international reinsurance group. A 17% drop year-to-date has left shareholders dismayed over their original purchase.

Platinum Underwriters (NYSE:PTP[10]) is a provider of property and marine, casualty and finite risk reinsurance coverages. Rounding out the list, PTP stock is down 22% since the start of 2011.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG[11]) operates in three business segments: commercial lines, personal lines and other property and casualty. During the past year, THG stock has dipped 18%.

Get more analysis of these picks and other publicly-traded stocks with Louis Navellier’s Portfolio Grader[12] tool, a 100% free stock-rating tool that measures both quantitative buying pressure and eight fundamental factors.

Source URL: https://investorplace.com/2011/11/insurance-all-aig-ago-lfc-gnw-ori-pre-ptp-thg/

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