best insurance stock - Chubb Shares forecast 2013, Chubb insurance plans 2013, Chubb's underwriting income : Shares of Chubb closed at $77.97 Monday, trading for 12.5 times the consensus 2013 earnings per share estimate of $6.25. The consensus 2014 earnings per share estimate is $6.64. The shares returned 11 percent during 2012. Based on a quarterly payout of 41 cents, the shares have a dividend yield of 1.64 percent.
Chubb plans to announce its fourth-quarter results on Jan. 31, after the market close. The company on Dec. 11 announced that it had estimated that its losses from Hurricane Sandy would be $880 million, or $570 million after taxes. The losses are expected to lower the company's earnings by $2.14 a share.
When announcing the loss estimate, Chubb said it was suspending its share buyback program, but that it expected repurchases to resume, although it no longer expected "to complete repurchases under its current $1.2 billion authorization by the end of January 2013 as previously contemplated." The company also expects to announce an additional buyback program after it announces its fourth-quarter results.
For the first three quarters of 2012, Chubb's underwriting income totaled $880 million. During 2011, underwriting income totaled $574 million.
The consensus estimate for the fourth quarter is for the company to report a net loss of 45 cents a share, compared to earnings per share of $1.98 in the third quarter and $1.63 in the fourth quarter of 2011.
