Property & Casualty Insurance

KBW reiterated its Outperform rating on Argo Group International Holdings (NASDAQ: AGII). At the same time, KBW left its price target on the company's stock unchanged at $40, in spite of lowering its 2011 earnings per share estimate. In a research report published today, KBW states, "Based on...

Cusick's Corner The market stayed...constructive but still not able to garner momentum to the upside. The bulls by no means are out of the woods, but the market is setting up for a potential pop, that's if the data that comes out pre-market tomorrow, Personal Income and Spending, does not raise...

United Fire & Casualty Company (NASDAQ: UFCS) announced today that it has entered into an agreement and plan of reorganization with United Fire Group, a newly-formed wholly owned subsidiary of United Fire, and UFC MergeCo, a newly-formed wholly owned subsidiary of United Fire Group. A...

Cusick's Corner There I was watching the Dollar trade, DXM11, and it was trading at 76.350 -- nice move and then I got a glimpse of the S&Ps, ESM11, and they are breaking 1313 which is the long standing trendline to the upside. Now the shorts are in a bit of a squeeze here in the Midday, but...

FPIC Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: FPIC) and The Doctors Company today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement pursuant to which The Doctors Company will acquire FPIC for $42.00 per share in cash, representing an aggregate purchase price of approximately $362 million. The $...

According to a recent report, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods has initated a Market Perform rating on Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ: CINF) and maintained a $31.00 price target after the company recently revamped its management team. In the report, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods said, "We view CINF as a...

According to a recent report, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods has lowered EPS estimates on The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE: THG) from $3.80 to $2.85 after between a $70 million to $85 million after tornadoes in the southern U.S. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods maintains a Market Perform rating on The...

It was a beautiful long weekend in Montreal. I tried to enjoy it as much as possible getting out of the house every chance I got. Even went out with some buddies of mine on Saturday night and came back in the wee hours of the morning. Haven't stayed up that late in a long time and of course, paid...

Here is our latest update on the stock trading technique called 'Buying Dividends'. This is the process of buying stocks before the ex dividend date and selling the stock shortly after the ex date at about the same price, yet still being entitled to the dividend. This technique generally works only...

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE: THG) today announced the estimated impact of catastrophe losses for the month of April 2011. The southern part of the U.S. experienced an unprecedented number of weather events during the month. In all, there were five catastrophes identified by Property Claim...

Below are the top large-cap property & casualty insurance stocks on the NYSE and the NASDAQ in terms of dividend yield. The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE: TRV) has a dividend yield of 2.60%. TRV's shares closed at $62.25 on Friday. Allstate Corporation (The) (NYSE: ALL) has a dividend yield...

Shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE: PGR) are lower on the session by 0.51%, currently trading at $21.67. The stock has been moving largely higher over the past four months and is currently trading above the 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Options traders are buying calls on the name...

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods commented on Selective Insurance (NASDAQ: SIGI) in a report released earlier today. In the report, Keefe was positive in its assessment of the company. Keefe writes, "Selective announced it experienced $25 million of catastrophe losses in April related to a series of...

Cusick's Corner The dynamics did not change much during the afternoon session. If anything there was a sense that the bulls lost interest in challenging the upside, skeptics, in front of tomorrow's AM settlement of European index options and PM settlement of equity options. I am not convinced that...

Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: SIGI) today announced preliminary pre-tax catastrophe and other property losses of approximately $25 million for the month of April. Tornadoes, wind and hail from five major storms in the Midwest and Southeast were the primary events.