Buy Carfinco, hold on to Intact Financial

Article Excerpt

INTACT FINANCIAL CORP. $68.29 (Toronto symbol IFC; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (416-341- 1464; www.intactfc.com; Shares outstanding: 131.5 million; Market cap: $9.0 billion; Dividend yield: 2.6%) is Canada’s largest provider of property and casualty insurance, based on premiums. Its brands include Intact Insurance, Canada BrokerLink, belairdirect and Grey Power. In the three months ended September 30, 2013, Intact’s revenue rose 5.7%, to $1.9 billion from $1.8 billion a year earlier. The company earned $0.39 a share, down sharply from $0.90. However, the latest results include a one-time loss of $1.52 a share related to the Lac-Mégantic rail tragedy and major rain and hail storms in Quebec, Ontario and Alberta. One-time losses amounted to $1.02 a share a year ago. Intact’s personal auto insurance business reported improved results in the latest quarter, with a combined ratio, or claims paid out divided by premiums taken in (the lower, the better), of 93.0%, down from 94.9%. However, the longer-term car insurance outlook is uncertain. Early…