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5,087 posts
msg #144634
- Ignore four |
9/11/2018 3:10:32 PM
https://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/18/09/12337479/trading-hurricane-florence-investors-make-storm-stock-p
Trading Hurricane Florence: Investors Make Storm Stock Picks
Shanthi Rexaline , Benzinga Staff Writer FOLLOW
September 11, 2018 3:02pm Comments
Trading Hurricane Florence: Investors Make Storm Stock Picks
The Atlantic hurricane season is peaking and the imminent storm threat is from Hurricane Florence, which is fast approaching the Carolinas. The National Hurricane Center has designated it as a Category 4 hurricane and expects the storm to strengthen over the next day or so before weakening slightly on Thursday, when it is expected to make landfall.
Hurricane Florence is on track to inflict damages to the tune of $27 billion, which would make it the ninth most-expensive storm in the U.S, Bloomberg reported.
Even as the hurricane threat looms, investors are attempting to capitalize on this potentially catastrophic event by lightening their holdings of insurance stocks while building positions on stocks related to rebuilding and travel — especially those with exposure to the east coast.
Insurers On Watch List
Allstate Corp
ALL 0.06%
, Travelers Companies Inc
TRV 0.02%
and Progressive Corp
PGR 0.21%
are heavily exposed to states such as Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia that could be potentially impacted by Hurricane Florence, Buckingham Research's Amit Kumar said in a Monday note.
Allstate and Travelers have a market share of 7.4 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively.
That said, the impacted states account for just a 4.3-percent share of the overall nationwide premium, the analyst said.
Among commercial property insurers, Travelers, Hartford Financial Services Group Inc
HIG 0.2%
and Allstate are the most exposed and could be the worst-hit, Kumar said.
See also: Goldman Downgrades Evertec, Says Puerto Rico's Hurricane Recovery Will Hurt Prospects
Generac To Get Hurricane-boost
Shares of power generation equipment manufacturer Generac Holdings Inc.
GNRC 0.73%
advanced solidly Monday amid expectations that Hurricane Florence will brighten the company's outlook.
Storm-related purchases would drive continued healthy shipments of portables, Canaccord Genuity analyst Chip Moore said in a Monday note.
The analyst said any major outage is likely to lead to another boost to Generac's full-year outlook.
"A major outage event would likely also help drive growth in the C&I market, including potential for increased activity with major telecom accounts (while supporting push for broader backup power mandates in critical care applications — similar to recent Florida legislation)," Moore said.
Benefiting From The Calamity
Other sectors that could benefit from the hurricane's potential impact are construction and related supply companies, home improvement retailers and car rental agencies.
Louisiana-Pacific Corporation
LPX 2.25%
and Fluor Corporation (NEW)
FLR 0.3%
are among construction companies active in the region likely to be hit hard by the hurricane, according to Forbes.
Shares of home improvement retailers Lowe's Companies, Inc.
LOW 1.62%
and Home Depot Inc
HD 1.77%
are on fire in the wake of hurricane, with both hitting all-time highs.
Car rental companies such as Avis Budget Group Inc.
CAR 0.19%
and Hertz Global Holdings Inc
HTZ 1.07%
also stand to gain as Carolinas residents in Florence's path evacuate to safety.
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four
5,087 posts
msg #144657
- Ignore four |
9/13/2018 11:19:47 AM
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-how-stocks-perform-as-hurricanes-bear-down-2018-09-13
CoreLogic estimates that the property damage from Florence could top $170 billion, Stovall also points out. That would exceed Katrina’s corresponding figure of $161 billion.
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The S&P 500 has been stuck in a “low-volatility regime” since the summer, according to this Wall Street Journal report that features the below chart. The index hasn’t moved more than 1% in either direction in more than 50 days:
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